Aran Aggio and the Titan's Revenge
by HockeyOlympian
Summary: A year after the battle for Olympus, Aran Aggio finds himself tangled in a quest to defeat the remaining Titans.  The appearence of another broken oath child of Poseidon grows close to Aran, but they will be seperated by a harsh prophecy.  Will Aran live?
1. Chapter 1

**OK, so this is my first story. It's a year after the whole Kronos thing and the other Titans are starting to get restless. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 1

**Paging Dr. Slayer!**

When you're a half-blood things are never normal. We are usually magnets for trouble, whether we caused it intentionally or not. Even though I'm not a trouble maker, guess who always gets blamed in the mortal world? Yep, me, Aran Aggio.

My seventh grade school year was going really well, for once. I did better in my classes than I normally did and I was not the center of attention. I figured it had to do with surviving the previous summer, when we defended Mount Olympus from Kronos and his minions. I was there fighting, and it was pretty gosh darn nerve wracking.

It was my first year at camp, and the day before the final battle I was claimed by my mother, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War. That was alright because I was friends with a lot of the Athena campers, which would turn out to be my half-siblings. During the battle I ended up saving our counselor and my other siblings a couple of times. No one really expected it from me, a little eleven year old. I was in a trance practically; anticipating, strategizing and fighting like never before. It probably had to do with Percy. He was an inspiration to all of us. I wanted to be as great a fighter as he was when I grew up. I was off to a pretty great start.

But my life never really got interesting until the year later.

My day started out as it usually does for me. I woke up to my alarm: a vibrating phone. Chiron, our activities director at Camp Half-blood and an immortal centaur, says we shouldn't use them for calling purposes. Calling with a cell is worse than shooting up a flare. The monsters can zero in on your exact spot and you get an all expenses paid face rearrangement. That was why a demigod invented texting, a safe alternative for contacting other half-bloods.

Unfortunately for me, I am terrible in the morning. As soon as my alarm kicked in, I immediately turned it off, rolled over, and went back to sleep. It wasn't until my friend's stepdad came in and woke me up fifteen minutes before the bus came that I actually realized that I needed to get up. "Aran! Come on, it's the last day of school. If you're late, I'm not driving you in, so get up!"

Now a thing that you should know; I live with my best friend Lauren Strite, daughter of Apollo. My dad was so cruel to me and when I found out that I was a demigod I never went back to that jerk. I don't know why I didn't get away from him sooner, but it was one of the best decisions of my life. Lauren and I became close during the battle for Olympus when she healed my broken arm. She was pretty cool and a great marksman and healer. After the battle was over we headed back to Camp Half-Blood, a safe haven for demigods with reinforced magical borders that prevents monsters from entering. At the end of camp, two weeks later, Lauren said that if I wanted I could live with her family and go to her school. I turned it down at first because I had pretty much been at camp itself for a total of five days before we left for Olympus and I still wanted to have fun at camp. Then during her winter break I Iris-messaged her and accepted the proposal. I was driven to her house by Argus, the camp's bodyguard that doesn't speak and is covered in eyes, like completely covered, and moved in. I stayed in the guest room which wasn't too small, but it was fine with me. I was welcomed into her school, Sagamore Middle School, and started right after the winter break was over.

In her bright yellow house lived Lauren, her mom, her stepdad, and me. Her parents were cool too, almost the polar opposite of my dad. They were fun to hang around and could be serious when they needed to. They didn't even mind me bringing a sword to school! It wouldn't harm mortals because it was celestial bronze and celestial bronze only harms monsters, gods, and other demigods. I also kept a sword at their house in case of emergency.

Lauren's dad was the God of Poetry, Music, Prophecy and Light, Apollo. He fell in love with Lauren's mom, Lucy, and they had Lauren. Apollo couldn't stay because he was a god, so he had to leave, but after Lauren was born Lucy found Jake, Lauren's stepdad. They got married when Lauren was four and Jake even knows about the Greek gods and such. They saved Lauren from a monster at one point by cracking a bat over its head and knocking it out then throwing it off a cliff. I thought they were cool because of that. In their garage Lauren and I store our weapons: swords, bows, and arrows.

It was awkward in the beginning living there and especially with Lauren's dad because I didn't really have good times with my real dad, but eventually everything settled out and they became like family to me. We went out together and did stuff like a family. Even though we weren't, they were definitely the closest people I've known.

Anyway, her stepdad always used that line as a joke and I never realized how big of a threat it was until the last day and also the biggest day of tests. The teachers always give out a test in their class on the last day of school. I think it's because they don't want us to enjoy the summer.

I sprang out of bed and put swapped my sleeping clothes for proper clothes, my gray shorts and white t-shirt for blue pants and my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. Lauren Strite and I had planned on being driven to camp by her mom after school, so we thought of wearing our camp stuff for the last day. I brushed my teeth and patted down my always messy blond hair. I did a quick search with my gray eyes to see if I missed anything then ran out the door. I was stopped by her mom on the way out in her waitress work uniform. She worked at Olive Garden and as far as I know she's the best one there. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her hazel eyes shone in the morning. She had a kind smile and was the nicest lady on the planet. "So you and Lauren are coming back here for me to drive you guys to camp?"

"Yes Mrs. Strite," I said with a smile.

"Aran there's a waffle here for you if you want," Jake said standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He was still in his plaid red and brown robe and hadn't changed yet. His brown hair was also a mess, like mine. And his brown eyes were halfway closed.

"He can't, he's gonna be late if he doesn't WALK!" Lauren yelled from behind me. Apparently some people don't like to take it easy.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going." I said.

"Ok, have fun you two," Lucy said finally and moved out of the way. I smiled and made my way out to the bus stop that only Lauren and I went to. Lauren ended up sprinting ahead to wait and I walked behind her. Her blond hair was also pulled into a ponytail and her blue jeans and Camp Half-Blood t-shirt hung on for dear life. She made it there way before I did so she started tapping her foot and looking impatient, which she was, but we laughed anyway at her charade.

School was pretty dull, as usual. First period I had a science test and I felt like I did really well. Then was math, my second favorite subject. We had another test and I finished with twenty minutes to spare. Third period was technology, my absolute favorite subject. I built so many things out of just wood that my teacher said I didn't even have to take the final exam. I did anyway, though, because I couldn't get enough of building and designing. I was also my half sisters' manager of what went up around Olympus, which probably helped.

Finally I had lunch. I found Lauren outside of the café waiting for me. She looked at me as I turned the corner and I saw her light brown eyes. She smiled as I walked over to her. I waved and we walked into the café and sat at our usual table. "I can't wait to get back to camp," she said to me.

At that point I checked to make sure I had my bead necklace. I did, thank the gods. We both had a bead necklace with one bead on it, an Empire State Building with all the names of the fallen etched in Greek going up the building in a spiral from the battle. "Yeah I can't wait to play capture-the-flag again," I said.

We were hanging out during lunch eating at our own table, like always, talking about random things like the dark side of the moon and Apollo's sun chariot. This was one of the only periods we had together, the other being art and music. We sat farthest away from the windows on the opposite wall. I was about to get up to throw my lunch out when the ground shook and a loud "ROOOOOAAAAAR" filled the school. I glanced at Lauren and she was thinking the same thing I was: Oh boy.

We hadn't had a monster attack all year, so it figures on the last day of school something would happen. The only problem was that we didn't have our weapons; they were in our lockers on the other side of Sagamore Middle school. She started to get up and the whole window wall shattered and came down. Cafeteria food went flying all over the place; I got a peanut and jelly sandwich in my face; kids screamed and ran out the exits while Lauren and I stared at the drakon that just crashed through the side of the building. "That's it, we run," I told her. She nodded and we ran for our lockers.

It was pretty hard to get to them. While we were going one way, the whole school was going the other way trying to get out. I turned corners and ran as fast as I could, my messy blond hair sticking in all kinds of directions. Lauren pulled ahead only because I got slowed down plowing into a couple of sixth graders. _Was I that annoying last year?_ I thought to myself. Finally we came to our hallway of lockers. They lined the sides, so it wasn't that easy to find ours.

Finally I came to my locker while Lauren was at her locker on the opposite side of the hall. Lauren already had her bow out and clipped on her quiver full of celestial bronze tipped arrows around her waist. She ran off while I was still getting my sword clipped on. It became a new thing at camp to clip your weapon holders around your waist. I thought of it. It was easier to get your weapon out and more comfortable.

I caught up with Lauren as she waited by the corner of the cafeteria. She was poking her head around the corner trying to see into the café. She saw me coming and told me, "You take point; I'll go around the other way. It's got armor that only protects its front, so I'll fill its back with bronze."

I nodded and she ran the other way to go fill it with bronze. Unfortunately that meant I had to distract it. Without armor, not that it would help if I got sprayed with acid.

Now we had drakon fighting courses at camp, but that really didn't help when we fought it. They were like giant armored snakes. They didn't have wings, some could shoot fire and all could spit acid. Only celestial bronze could kill it, and that's what all demigod weapons are made of. That didn't make it any safer.

It was still thrashing around, eating tables and flinging food everywhere. It was a sickly shade of yellow that matched the acid it was spitting out. Its scales did actually come up, leaving exposed spots around back. I saw Percy fight one of these last year, so it couldn't be that hard, right? Nope.

As soon as I stood in the un-dissolved doorway it turned to face me. Thankfully I didn't look at its eyes, or I would've been scared so much I wouldn't be able to move. The bad part was that it spat acid that I had to dive to avoid. I glanced behind me and saw the doorway dissolving. "Ok buddy. Get out of here now and I won't have to kill you," I told it. It just spat more acid, so I took that as a no. The bad part was that I couldn't possibly kill this thing. I tried to think of what to do to keep its attention on me. When I came to a blank (which is unusual), I desperately took out my sword and charged it.

Everything was going good until its tail swatted me away. I flew and landed upside down on the far side wall opposite the gaping hole in the cafe. Then I slid down and laid prone on the ground. I could feel a couple ribs broken. My sword flew out of my hand and I heard it land somewhere behind the drakon. At this point I thought _Hey Lauren, now would be a good time to kill it!_ It lunged at me and I saw my life flash before my eyes thinking _Oh my gods I'm gonna end up as drakon feed_. Good thing my mind was wrong.

Just before the drakon reached me it turned into dust and its scaly mold crashed around me. It was hollow on the inside but I was still blasted by the dust it turned into. My chest hurt as I got out of the pile and I figured that maybe I broke more ribs than I thought. I just had to walk through the corpse to get out. What I saw, though, didn't help me feel better when I got out. I was scared after that attack. Now I was petrified.

My sword that had flown out of my hand had ended up given Lauren a nasty cut down her thigh. She was sitting against a wall trying to put pressure on it. She knew what to do if she got hurt; she was a daughter of Apollo after all. I wasn't too worried, but I hadn't looked at her face yet. Her face looked pale and she looked sweaty. I hadn't noticed it at first, but there was a trail of her blood on the ground. When I saw that I thought that this would be her end. I ran over to her and said, "Hold on Lauren. I'm gonna get you out of here."

She must have seen my face because she said, "I'll be fine. Just get me some shirts from the lost-and-found."

I took a couple shirts out of the lost-and-found bin on the other side of the café and gave them to her. Her hands shook as she worked to wrap the wound. Her blue pants were tainted red around the cut and her light orange t-shirt stuck to her sweaty body. I always had some ambrosia in my pocket so I took some out and gave it to her. I don't know how she didn't pass out. I bit my lips as I moved, my chest screamed with pain. I started to help her up, but no amount of biting my lips would help this time. We both fell back down to the ground and groaned in unison. "My ribs! Dang it!" I said.

"We can't eat any more ambrosia or we'll burn up. I'll try to get us some help Aran," Lauren said.

"No. You can't even get up. Don't push yourself anymore."

"But –"

"Lauren. There's no way. There's just no way." I said to her shaking my head. She knew it was true. "To think that we can face an army of monsters but nearly die from a stupid snake," I said laughing a bit, which hurt incredibly. Honestly, we looked as pale as ghosts and were practically a waterfall of sweat. "Oh, I'm so cold," Lauren said. It was true, I was getting cold to. _This might be the end of us_ I thought. A tear trickled down my face as I thought of all the things I'd done in my short demigod life.

I was on the verge of passing out from the pain when I heard a girl yell, "There! I found them! Oh gods, they're hurt. Come on Percy they need us!"

With the last of my energy I said to Lauren, "You first. I'll….be….fine." I was barely conscious at that point. Black dots were clouding my field of vision. I managed to see a boy come around the corner and run over to me.

Then everything went black.

**Hope you all liked it. Review!**


	2. The Storm

**Alrighty! Here's the next chapter. The anticipation builds and the storm fades! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 2

**The Storm**

Thank the gods I was alive.

I woke up feeling much better than when I had gone out. I opened my eyes to a dimly lit room. Through a window I could see a really bad storm, but it parted around us thanks to the magical boundaries. A lone candle stood in the center of the room on a small table. The shadows danced on the walls. In the relatively small room were a small dresser, a mirror, and the bed I was resting on. There was also a chair next to the bed, and it was occupied.

Once I recognized that I was in the guest room of the Big House, a farmhouse painted blue, I checked to make sure my body worked. I raised my arms, moved my hands, and shifted my legs. I turned my head to the person sitting in the chair next to me and recognized who she was. She was reading an architecture book and had not noticed me up yet because her head was buried in her book. She had on her camp t-shirt, like the rest of the campers, and blue pants with her blond hair in a ponytail. Outside the door I could hear voices talking.

It felt so good to know that I was back at familiar old camp. The Greek marble buildings and my friends and the creek and everything just felt so right. I couldn't wait for tomorrow so I could see it all clearly.

I decided that I was done lying around and went to get up. As I used my elbows for support, the blond girl looked up clearly relieved and angry, and said, "Aran you bonehead. What were you thinking? You could've gotten killed!" I tried to get up but she told me, "Oh no you don't. Not until you are checked out. If it was up to me I would keep you here for another day, but Chiron wants you up and going as soon as possible."

After I lied back down she called in Clarisse. My eyes widened and I said, "Are you crazy? Are you trying to kill me? She's gonna run me through a wall!"

Annabeth shrugged and said, "Chiron wants to make sure you're fully healed. Clarisse has had a couple of her ribs broken, so she can tell when they're healed better than anyone. Just relax and let her check you."

The thought of Clarisse caring or listening to anyone, especially Annabeth, was really weird. I decided I'd ask her later. However, I could tell Annabeth was glad I was ok. She was my favorite half-sister. She was the smartest out of all of the Athena kids and was a brilliant architect and strategist.

"Wait Annabeth. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be up on Olympus watching the reconstruction?" I asked because I remembered that she was put in charge of the reconstruction for valor in combat. I watched the progress and told her what went up and what needed to go up. I thought that she'd be up there more often, but here she was.

"Well I put someone else in charge. I gave him strict orders and told him that if he messed up there'd be major problems. I wanted to enjoy my summer after all at my favorite place in the world." She told me. I nodded and brought out my Blackberry and checked up on the reconstruction before handing it to Annabeth to check. She gave it back and then someone knocked on the door.

When Clarisse came in it was like a drakon had walked in she was that terrifying. I wouldn't even dare to talk to her, much less make eye contact. Her long brown hair was hanging loosely and her blue jeans, black shirt, and brown biker jacket could scare the heck out of a hellhound.

Clarisse looked at Annabeth and she nodded back. "Alright punk, lie down and don't move or I'll re-brake your ribs." That was a pretty serious threat and I knew she'd do it if I didn't listen. What she did though made me want to huddle in a corner.

It hadn't occurred to me that when Annabeth said _check_ I thought it involved her making me move around or something. Clarisse didn't do that. She felt, _FELT_, my chest. I was so scared I forgot how to breathe. Nothing hurt, so I figured I must have healed, but that still didn't remind me of how to inhale and exhale. Only after Clarisse said I was good and walked out the door calling me a punk on the way out did I finally breathe.

Annabeth thought this was funny and let me up. I was really anxious to get up, so I jumped out of bed and stood up… not before falling back down again when I got lightheaded. "Oof, I hate it when that happens." Then I stood up again, slowly, and walked out of the room. Annabeth looked a bit worried after I fell down but her angry face returned. Then we walked out of the guest room together

"I'm glad you're not dead you little runt," she said ruffling my already messy hair. "We need to talk after dinner about how everything happened."

"Sure sis," I said. I know that calling her "sis" bugs the heck out of her. I do it anyway, though, because it's fun to see her get angry. She glared at me then went over and joined Percy on the couch. He waved when he saw me and I bowed to Chiron who was staring out the window. Percy had the usual, jeans and camp t-shirt, and Chiron had a frayed tweed jacket on over a camp t-shirt in his horse form.

The rectangle room had a fireplace, a double door leading outside, a couch, and a big table in the middle. I turned a chair to face my sister and her boyfriend and sat down. I was a bit protective of Annabeth, but Percy was a good guy, practically a brother to me, so I just liked to annoy them.

Percy and Chiron asked how I felt and I told them I was fine, but as I looked at Chiron he had a worried look in his ancient eyes. In his horse form his head almost touched the ceiling. His tail flicked nervously on his lower white stallion half. I could tell he was worried but I didn't want to press him now.

It turns out I was out for a day. That wasn't so bad; I've been out for longer. I got hungry quick, so we decided to head out for the dining hall. Just then I remembered about Lauren. The last time I'd seen her she was looking pretty bad. "Hey, I think I'm gonna go and check on Lauren. I'll see you guys later," and I went off to the Apollo cabin. I found it, the glowing one in the evening sun with a lyre overhead and knocked on the door. Lauren answered and I took a sigh of relief. The color returned to her face and she looked like nothing even happened to her. "Hey Lauren! I take it you healed up alright?"

"Well duh, my father is the god of healing. I better heal up good!" she said. "You look better too! You sure you're not still broken?"

"Yep. Clarisse even checked." I said. Then my eyes widened. "Oh gods I need a shower." She laughed and we hugged. "You want to go to dinner now?"

"Yeah sure, I'm starving," she told me. "Race ya."

"You're on." And we took off towards the dining hall.

At dinner my brothers and sisters patted me on the back, some were envious and others were relieved. I was just happy to be in one piece. We offered to the gods and ate a dinner of pizza. I still couldn't wait to take a shower, so right after we finished I went back to the Athena cabin and showered, skipping the sing along. I tripped over someone's armor that was lying on the ground and put it on their bunk. _Malcolm_ I thought to myself. I checked around the room filled with battle maps, books, and 3-D models of buildings to see if there was anything else out of place. _Nope_, so I went into the boys' bathroom. Annabeth had a pair of bathrooms installed in each cabin. It was a pretty cool idea, and my idea of making them colored marble was even cooler. Ours was gray because of Athena.

After the shower I went over and lied down on my bunk to read my architecture book. Eventually my cabin mates started coming back. When Annabeth and Percy came in, though, the whole cabin cleared except for me. I guessed that Annabeth had told them that she wanted to talk to me or something.

After I finished putting my book away we all sat on my bunk. My sister sat on Percy's lap on one end and I sat on the other. "Aran, how did you and Lauren take down that drakon?" Annabeth asked. She looked slightly ticked, but I could tell that she was glad I was back.

"Well, I distracted the thing while Lauren crept around back to shoot it with arrows and stuff. Why?" I said. Percy whispered something into her ear and she lost the irritated look.

"It's just that Percy and I fought one similar to that one a year ago and we thought that it was the only one brought back from Tartarus." She told me. I remember the trouble they had with the one last year.

"You've got guts Aran," Percy said. Hearing a great invincible warrior tell you you have guts was pretty awesome. "But still, we're worried about something."

"What's up?" I asked. If Percy and Annabeth, the best fighting pair ever, are worried then it must be serious.

They looked at each other then Percy said, "Well, we think there's still a Titan out there gathering forces to attack us. We think he's working solo, but already has gathered some deadly monsters on Mount Orthys in California."

My jaw dropped. I picked it back up then said, "But I thought there were no more Titans anymore. What could happen now?"

"Well," Annabeth started, "we think we may have to go out and stop him from getting to powerful. Mr. D went to Olympus to talk to the others about this." This had to be pretty serious if Mr. D, our camp counselor and synonymously the God of Wine, had to go to Olympus to inform the Olympians.

Then the door shot open and Malcolm came in panting. He looked terrified and exhausted.

"What's wrong Malcolm?" I asked him.

"There's a – she just showed up – the sea – needs help - beach," and he kept stuttering a couple more things not being able to complete a sentence. Percy and I looked at each other and immediately we took off and headed towards the beach.

"What do you think is wrong?" I asked him while running past the forest and rock climbing wall.

"I don't know. But that storm picked up before and now it's quiet so whoever it is must have something to do with it," he said to me.

We picked up the pace and heard Annabeth and Malcolm close behind us. Percy started slowing down while we kept going strong. "What's the matter Percy? You gonna let your girlfriend and her brothers beat you?" I said while jogging backwards. Annabeth giggled a bit, but Malcolm looked really worried still. Percy grinned and picked up his pace and caught up to me in no time.

As we started to catch our breath it was taken away again as we saw what was on the beach. It was a girl, about my age, with wavy brown hair and had a navy blue t-shirt on and sea green pants. Percy, Annabeth, and I ran over to her while a crowd of campers started to gather around us.

**Cool. So I hoped you all liked and remember to review!**


	3. Mysterious Visitors

**Aaaaaand here's chapter 3! Some more action and revelations! :D Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

**Mysterious Visitors**

Despite the waves lapping against her, she was completely dry. Percy and Annabeth looked more shocked and scared than anyone else and their faces paled. No one spoke and the only noise in the evening was the sound of small waves against the shore.

"Come on you guys. She needs ambrosia and nectar." I told the crowd. I managed to pull her out of the water and propped her up against me. Finally Percy snapped out of his trance and came over and helped.

"Aran, we need to get her to the Big House," Percy said. I checked her carotid artery to make sure she was even alive. She was, thank the gods, but she was breathing really slowly. We both put one of her arms around us and held onto her arm and waist. She was light, so we made good time trekking across the camp.

"Of all the places to show up in camp," I said trying to lighten the mood, "she had to show up on a beach halfway around the world."

Percy didn't say anything, which I thought was really weird. He didn't even smile or realize I had spoken. Annabeth had caught up to us. We kind of left in a hurry so most of the campers were just staring as we walked away. We walked past the marble Greek style buildings: the armory, forge, pavilion, amphitheatre, the rectangle of cabins and, my personal favorite place the arena and chariot track. The buildings had an eerie look to them in the evening sun and cast almost threatening shadows.

Annabeth pulled out in front of us as I readjusted my arms so that I had a better grip on the girl's right side. She had almost an aura of energy radiating from her and her hair smelled like strawberries. Finally, just as I started to tire from holding a limp body, we reached the Big House. It was then I noticed that the clouds that were present just an hour ago were completely gone.

Annabeth ran up the steps and open the door for us. Percy and I had to walk in sideways because the doorframe wasn't big enough to let three people pass through side by side. Percy went in first and Annabeth held the door and I followed him. I heard the door shut behind me and we walked over to the infirmary. There were a couple of empty beds in the unoccupied room, so we chose the closest bed to set her down. All the beds had a window above them that filtered in orange rays and illuminated the room. Finally after lying her down on the bed I told my friends, "I'm gonna go get Chiron. You guys stay her and help her any way you can." Annabeth looked like she was going to argue, probably because she's usually the one calling the shots, but Percy gently put his hand on her shoulder and she nodded. I just caught a glimpse of them pulling up chairs next to each other on one side of the bed and stared at her.

It took me a while to find Chiron. After thousands of years I figured he was probably a master of hide-and-seek. I didn't dare call his name because Mr. D (Dionysus, our camp counselor) would probably turn me into a dolphin or something. I scanned all the rooms on all the floors and even poked my head into the attic. The old body of the oracle used to live up there, but now it was just littered with junk.

I almost gave up hope until I remembered something: pinochle. I smiled at the thought and ran out the back door and found Mr. D, Chiron - wheelchair form - and two satyrs all playing pinochle around a table. As I walked up to Chiron he "won" (I still have no clue how to play it) and turned to face me. "Ah, we have a guest." I looked at him with extreme seriousness and said, "Help."

She finally started to stir after a long five hours. Chiron had told me to watch over her, and I had no clue why though. He said it was because I was the first to act to save her. I didn't think it was a big deal, but apparently if I hadn't acted then she would have died. An hour after Chiron had worked his magic Annabeth and Percy left, leaving me alone with an unconscious brown haired girl. Chiron went to my cabin and brought back my cell phone and an architecture book. I turned on my Blackberry, which all the Athena campers had because it could do a lot more than a normal cell phone, and checked the status of the buildings in Olympus as I was in charge of the progress of the reconstruction.

The marble floors had finally been finished after a long year and the statue of Percy and Annabeth had just started. The statue of the two was kind of a secret gift from the camp. Even the Ares campers thought they deserved it, although they thought Clarisse should get one too for killing the drakon. Eventually I finalized the decision and ordered a statue of Percy and Annabeth, the two most important heroes of the age of the gods.

After checking the status I opened my book and read about the Roman aqueducts. Soon, my eyes started getting heavy and I found myself struggling to stay awake. I thought my unconscious friend would be fine since I just gave her some nectar and went to get a glass of water. I sucked it down in less than a second and refilled my glass to bring it back with me.

I noticed as I was going back that my hand was getting cold. I decided that I'd sit on my hand to warm it up and put the glass in the other hand; but as soon as I swapped hands my left hand, now holding the glass, got cold and my other hand warmed up. I was so focused on this that I hadn't realized I walked back into the infirmary. I just shook my head and set the glass down on the nightstand. Within seconds of my return sleeping beauty woke up very slowly.

She looked really tired. Her eyes were a startling sea green color and it looked like she was having trouble moving. I stood up and walked over to her. "Hey there, are you alright?"

"Unh?" She responded. She blinked a couple of times and focused on me. Finally she asked, "Where am I?" Her throat sounded really dry form the way she said the question.

"Hold on. Let me get you some water," and I picked up the glass of ice from the table. Wait, ice? Yes ice, the glass was freezing and there was ice in it. I looked bewildered. I looked back at her and she was holding out her hand waiting for me to hand her the glass. I was a bit unsure if I should hand her the glass, but I did anyway and I just thought _well I'll just get her another if she wants_. She looked at it like I handed her a banana, then she drank the water. Wait, water? Yes, the ice had melted as she took the glass from me. She finished the glass and set it down on the table. She said, "What?" and then I realized I was staring at her. I was just so amazed at the fact that the glass went from holding ice to water in a snap. I shook my head and said to her, "Nothing. Can you tell me your name?"

"Ummmmm…"

"What, don't know your own name?"

"I don't know."

She started to sit up but I grabbed her shoulders and said, "No, you're still tired. You need to rest some more. Go on and go back to sleep."

"But you don't know my name and I don't know yours," she said. She was really stubborn, but I was pretty stubborn myself, so I said, "Well it doesn't matter so much that you remember your name as much as you're safe. Aran Aggio, by the way."

I had won and she laid back down. I started to walk out, but then I heard a voice behind me, "Aran?"

I turned and said, "What's up?"

"What was that stuff you gave me?"

"Oh, that's nectar. I don't think you need anymore though. You look pretty much healed so giving you some more would be bad."

She frowned then said, "Oh. Okay."

"Don't worry, I'm sure the next time you wake up you'll be good to go and you can eat something," I reassured her. She smiled a bit then said, "Good," and closed her eyes.

I couldn't wait to get back to my cabin, but something told me to go to the archery range. I thought _what the hey, it's a nice night to do some night shooting._ Chiron had started a class at night for really good archers to shoot at targets in the night, but they already finished before I came out. I walked over and grabbed a quiver full of glow in the dark arrows and grabbed my bow off the rack. All the campers had their own bows, but my bow, I thought, was the coolest. It was silver and had small twin horns at either end.

I shot a few bulls eyes when I heard footsteps behind me and heaving panting. I turned my head a quarter and looked at the shadow from the corner of my eye. What I saw nearly made me yell in fear: it was the Minotaur.

I turned to face it and said, "How did you get in here Ugly?" It made a noise that sounded like a cross between a moo and a grunt, like a "moh". Then it charged me. Its purple polka dot underwear faintly showed in the moonlight. It was completely silent except for his noises. Fortunately, we have Minotaur fighting classes at camp, so I knew exactly what to do. Unfortunately I acted too slow.

I tried to sidestep but he lashed his hand out and grabbed me around the neck with his meaty hand. His furry top half smelled terrible, like rotting meat. Of course I knew that was just his breath, but it still almost made me pass out from just the smell. Then he stopped running and held me up to the moon. I glared daggers at him, but he just seemed to choke me more. I was trying desperately to remove his hands, but I was too tired.

"Let go of me cupcake!" I knew the art of taunting, and calling a meathead like him a cupcake was a pretty serious insult. I don't think he was really mad at me until I said that. His eyes became tinted red and he moo-roared loudly into my face, causing me to gag at his terrible breath. I tried to think of something to do. _Athena always has a plan,_ Annabeth's voice said in my head. _THEN HELP ME!_ I screamed back to it. The bull man pulled me closer to his face and looked me in the eye. I glared back and spat at him. It bellowed, "GRROOAAH!" Uh oh, now I've done it.

I had done it, and he chucked me halfway across camp. Literally, _chucked_ me _halfway_ across camp. I landed in the rectangle of cabins after glancing off the roof of the Zeus cabin. I heard a bunch of bones crack and pain exploded from everywhere in my body. My head felt like a cyclops was beating it with a hammer as well as the rest of my body. I don't know how I stayed conscious. I obviously cracked my head on something because I vision was blurry and I felt blood trickling down my cheek. I also realized that my bow had snapped in half and one half had embedded itself in the side of my stomach. Blood escaped out of several bad cuts throughout my body.

"Oooooohhhh, that hurt." I managed to say as I smelt _him_ again. I couldn't tell where he was because everything was a blur. I could see him when he got closer, though. I don't know how everyone else was still asleep, especially after I screamed throughout my little fly across camp and crashed into Zeus's cabin.

_Oh, sorry about that by the way Zeus. It wasn't really my fault,_ I thought. Then I thought, _Aw crud, this is the part where I get the remaining daylights beaten out of me_. And I was right. He picked me up with one hand around my neck. I still managed to glare at him and say, "I've seen Aphrodite campers fight better than you." Now he was blind with rage. He slammed me into the marble side of the fountain that was just put in the camp and threw me into the side of the Athena cabin, cracking the outside as well as every bone in my body.

He held me up to the Athena cabin and proceeded to punch me several times in the stomach and chest. After he finished making me into a pancake he threw me again into another cabin. I landed upside down against the Poseidon cabin wall, even cracking that wall as well. I slid down and held my hands to my face. I pulled them away after a second to see my hands covered in blood and a pool of blood forming around me. _Please, any god who's listening. Please help._ I couldn't ask for more because Mr. Ugly had stomped on my back. I screamed in pain like a piano had fallen ten stories onto one spot in my back, which is what it felt like. I couldn't see anything anymore but I knew that my eyes were still open. All I saw were black and red spots and could smell his horrid odor.

Finally I thought my life would end after he rammed me against a pillar horns first. I could_ feel_ his horns go into my chest. Blood was spurting from everywhere on my body. I couldn't feel anywhere anymore. He pulled his horns out and tossed me aside. I caught one last extremely malfunctioned glance at a black and purple blob before he exploded into a mound of gold dust. I heard someone scream my name, but it was more like I felt all my bones vibrating together. My last thought was, Great_, now who's gonna save me when everyone's asleep. _I closed my eyes, unable to bear the pain anymore.

**Uh oh! What's gonna happen next? Will he live? Find out next time! Don't forget to review! **


	4. An Out of This World Experience

**Dang it! I forgot the disclaimer last chapter... Does that mean I HAVE to go back and put it in? I'm really too lazy to, but if I have to then meh :\. **

**Anyway, DISCLAIMER for this chapter and chapter 3 - I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 4

**An Out of This World Experience**

I have no clue what happened to me after I closed my eyes. I could feel myself being pulled from my spot, but nothing made sense. I was standing up looking down at my body. It was a bloody mess, but then I thought of how this was happening. I saw my actual body, the bloody mess, on the ground in front of me, but I also knew that what I was seeing was through what I guessed was my body as well. It was like a dream where you can see yourself but not see through your eyes. Capisce?

Then I remembered the person who called my name. I turned to the direction of the voice and it was Percy. He was just wearing shorts which I thought was kind of weird, I mean would a shirt kill him? But he ran over to me and had an expression on his face that I'd never seen before: absolute fear.

He capped Riptide and dropped on his knees next to my body on the floor. He whispered, "Aran" and was about to help me when it looked like he remembered something. He got up quickly and ran to the Athena cabin, my cabin with the cracked wall. _Oops_. Since I could move around in this state or whatever, I followed him. I really didn't like looking at my bloody body, it depressed me.

Without even knocking or anything he whipped the door open and scanned the room for a bit, like he was looking for something. When he found this something, he ran over to a bunk and woke up whoever was sleeping. I was still standing at the door, and even from there I could hear him telling the person to wake up and help him. Some of the other Athena campers woke up too and they listened to what was being spoken. Then my body went numb when Percy said, "He's on the floor, I think he's dead or dying, you have to hurry!" At this point the whole cabin was awake and staring at the two. The girl jumped out of her bed with the same expression as Percy and tore out of the cabin with him. I realized who that girl was: Annabeth.

They went back outside with a couple campers following them. Percy said something to Annabeth and ran to the Big House while Annabeth ran over to my body. I followed up behind her in my "ghost state," if you could even call it that. She slowed down when she got to me and it looked like she was struggling to walk without falling down. She dropped on my body's right side so I went to the left side. I thought I saw tears in her eyes, but that didn't seem right, I've never seen Annabeth cry before. She knelt over my body and said, "A-a-a-a-Aran? No, n-n-no, w-w-why? W-w-what, w-w-w-w-who?" Then she did start to cry. I decided that I'd go and comfort her I guess, but when I went to put my hand on her shoulder I fell through her. _Whoa, not cool!_ I picked myself up and decided to test out an experiment. I smiled at the thought of it.

After taking a short trip to the Ares cabin to attempt to smack a certain someone (which didn't work, sadly), I came back to find a circle of people around my body. Since I was able to walk through things, I just scooted myself up to the front of the crowd. There were some campers crying, some in disbelief, and some that had no clue what was happening. Percy had come back with Chiron and was trying to help in any way possible. Chiron eventually said after rolling me over onto my back, "Oh dear. We need to get him to the Athena cabin." Percy nodded and picked up my limp form. Even though I wasn't "in" my body I could still feel some of the pain from all the broken bones.

Annabeth followed closely and went ahead to open the door. Percy took me inside and put me down on my bunk. His arms and chest were covered in my blood and my bed would soon be as well. Chiron managed to squeeze through the door in his horse form. Most of the Athena campers stayed outside, still in shock from what they say. Malcolm was the only one to follow us. My bunk was surrounded by the people in the cabin. Percy stood at the head of the bed, Chiron and Annabeth stood next to each other at my side and Malcolm stood and the base. Chiron, for once, actually looked really worried.

Chiron put a hand on my head and chanted something in ancient Greek, what I figured was an ancient hymn to Apollo. Before taking his hand off my head, Chiron said to Malcolm, "Go get Will from the Apollo cabin." Malcolm nodded and sprinted out the door. Percy came around Chiron and took Annabeth away from the scene and hugged her. She was crying and kept trying to see my body. Chiron then put his hand over my heart and chanted another hymn to Apollo. At this point Chiron looked completely out of breath. He took out a jar from his frayed tweed jacket pocket and poured the liquid into my mouth and I swallowed. It was nectar, the food of the gods, and it tasted good even from out of my body. Chiron looked a bit relieved afterwards, maybe even a small smiled played across his lips, and then he turned to Percy and Annabeth.

"He should be fine as long as Will can fix him up alright. He had me worried there for a second. It's a good thing that you found him when you did, Percy. If you hadn't showed up, he would be dead."

I was laughing a bit because Chiron still had his tail curlers in, but I thought it'd be best if I didn't bring that up. Then Annabeth spoke shakily, "W-what was wrong with him?"

"I woke up hearing a bunch of noise outside my cabin. Without thinking I brought out Riptide and went outside. I saw the Minotaur with his back turned to me and I killed him. After wards I saw that Aran was on the floor. He looked pretty bad," said Percy.

Chiron nodded and added, "Every bone in his body was broken. He had a concussion and he will be sore and in pain when he wakes up. I am going to excuse you two from your duties for a week to watch him. You should go back to your cabin, Percy."

Percy nodded and kissed Annabeth on her forehead before he left. Chiron followed and Annabeth pulled a chair up to me. I followed Percy outside to see what was going on.

"… fine, he's gonna be out for at least a week, so Chiron wants me and Annabeth to watch him," I heard Percy finish. Will was coming back with Malcolm now. "He's inside Will. Malcolm, stay out here with everyone until he's done." Percy went back inside to watch Will fix me up.

He basically just wrapped me up and treated my wounds. It was nice to see that the twin holes in my chest were much smaller and I didn't look so bloody. After Will was finished, he left and Percy followed after saying goodnight to Annabeth. She still looked shaken up, but she stayed by my body. The rest of the campers filed in and went back to sleep. _I wonder how they do it with the smell of blood….._ It was then I realized Will had placed air fresheners all around the room, spreading the smell of lavender. It was too much for me, though, so I took this time to go take a walk. After all the action it felt good to relax for a bit.

Sitting on the beach gave me time to think about some things. _How long do I have to stay like this? What about those cracked walls? How did I survive that? How did the Minotaur even get into camp?_ I was too busy thinking to actually realize that there was a woman standing in front of me. I could feel the power radiating off of her, and then I realized who it was. I kneeled before her and said, "Lady Athena."

She was dressed for battle, spear and shield in hand. Her gray armor matched her stormy gray eyes. "Rise my son. I have grave news to deliver." I never met my mother before, and seeing her for the first time ever was pretty nerve wracking. She had so much power I felt like if I angered her she would turn me into a pile of ashes. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't disintegrate you." _Whoa, did she read my thoughts?_ "Yes, it is something we gods do quite often." _Oh….._

"So what's this news about?"

"My son, let me start off by saying the Minotaur was not your fault."

"What the nearly dying or getting my butt whooped?"

She thought for a second then said, "Yes. But that relates to the news I have to give you. When you return to your body you must report this to Chiron." I nodded then she continued. "There are still titans fighting. Actually there is only one, but he has regrouped Kronos's army and is threatening Olympus again. And he has brought a new enemy to our attention: Echidna."

I took that in for a second, my mind racing with so many questions I wanted to ask. The only one I could get out was, "But why are you telling me this? Surely Annabeth or Malcolm is better suited than me. They are more experienced and older and-"

"I have told you because you are to go on a quest, a quest to save Olympus. I can only tell you so much now, but I can say that you will need three others to go on this quest with you. One I believe you have met earlier before the, er, incident with the Minotaur." It didn't take me long to think of who this could be.

"Lyra?"

Athena didn't look to happy about what she was going to say, "Yes, you will need her… and two others. I think you know who to choose." She finished then she reached behind her back and brought out a handle of a sword. It had a leather grip and a gold hilt. There was also a finger guard around it that opened at the center, but there was no blade attached. It had one word along the hilt: σοφία. "Sophia?"

"Yes, Wisdom. One of the most powerful forces on this world. I know you are wondering where the blade is. When you want the blade to appear, all you have to do is tap the hilt. Try it out," she finished and stepped back. I looked at the hilt then tapped it. Sure enough three feet of gleaming celestial bronze came out from the hilt. I recognized the sword in its full form.

"A Falcata! It's so amazing. But, why did you give this to me?"

"My son, if you are to go on a quest, you will need a magic weapon. Should you lose this weapon, hold your hand out to the direction you lost it and say its name. It will come back to you no matter what." She finished and I tapped the hilt again and it turned back to a regular grip and hilt. "Now I must return to Olympus. By the way, the statue of Annabeth, Percy, and Grover went up. I know you will do well. Farewell."

I was smart enough to look away before she turned into her true form. I didn't know how long I was out there for afterwards just staring at the hilt, but I went back to my cabin. Then another problem popped up: how do I get back to normal? I thought about it for a second, and decided that I'd just lie over my body. I really had no clue what to do, but I hoped that that would work.

I came back to the cabin and found that the sun had come up. _Wow, I was out there for a long time_ I said to myself. I found Annabeth still up, wiping my forehead with a cold, wet cloth and a bucket of water next to her. It looked like she never even went to sleep. I figured once I got back to normal then I'd tell her she should sleep.

Then came the moment of truth. I laid back down, overlapping my bandaged body perfectly and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew I shot my eyes opened and gasped shakily. Annabeth looked back at me and stood up, holding me down. I was looking at everything at once. My eyes wouldn't stop moving. Then I felt something in my hand: Sophia. I looked up at Annabeth and smiled, "Annabeth, you need to get some rest." She shook her head, but then I looked her in the eye and said again, "I'm fine, get some rest. You've been up all night. Really I'm fine. If you're that worried then go get Percy to watch me, just go to sleep." She looked like she was going to protest, but then she nodded. Then she hugged me, "I'm glad you came back you bonehead." She had tears in her eyes and walked outside.

I looked at my hilt and held it up to the light. I tapped the hilt with my arm in a sling and the blade appeared. The Falcata felt so right in my hand. I smiled at it then tapped the hilt again and put it on the table at the head of the bead. I waited for a bit, moving sections of my body to see if they still worked, and thank the gods they all worked fine. I still had a headache and my body was sore and stiff.

Percy came in followed by Annabeth. This time he had a shirt on. He kissed Annabeth (I guess good night?) and came over to me. She was so tired I think as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out. After he sat down he said, "Why did you do that?"

I chuckled (which hurt incredibly) and said, "It wasn't my fault. I have something to tell you, Annabeth, Chiron, and someone else though." I finished with a serious tone. Everyone was still asleep, but I didn't think it'd be safe to tell him here.

"Ok. There's some nectar right here, so take when you need. I'll come back later. I'm going to go check on the girl." Then without thinking I said, "That's her. She's the last person I need to talk to."

**Oh boy! :D **

**Anyway, just a quick note. I plan on uploading everyday seeing as I already have fourteen chapters written and eleven of them edited. So expect more stuff everyday!**

**Aaaaaaaaand don't forget to review! Seriously...**


	5. The Talk of a Quest

**Umm? I don't know what to say...**

**Oh well, here's another chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 5

**The Talk of a Quest**

After Percy left I did go to sleep. It must have been about midday when I woke up because there was no one in the cabin except for Percy. I tried to sit up, but failed miserably and laid back down with a groan. "Dang Minotaur. Stupid ugly monster. Dumb animal. If I had my sword I woulda-" I was cut off by Percy laughing at my anger directed at a deceased cow, for now.

"Well I think you're feeling better already. The day after the attack and you're already cursing out the monster," Percy said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's just say next time I see him I will personally run him through," I said with a hint of anger.

"Oh yeah? With what you're fists?" he questioned.

I smiled at this because Percy had done just that. "Not quite. I do have something that I got recently. Come here, I gotta show it to you."

He got up from his chair on the other side of the room and walked over to me. "What's your super awesome godly weapon of destruction that's gonna be the downfall of the big bad Minotaur?" he questioned with sarcasm literally dripping from his words.

I smirked and said, "Oh you just watch." And with that I pulled out my base. He stared at it, went wide eyed, and then started laughing so hard he fell on the ground. "Dude, I think you need some more rest. There's no way that you're gonna kill _anything _with that," he said pointing to my sword base. Now it was my turn to laugh. I raised an eyebrow, and then tapped the hilt against my side. Three feet of celestial bronze grew from the base in a quarter of a second. Percy had on such a shocked yet amazed face that I couldn't help laughing, even though it hurt like I was a being gnawed on by Mrs. O' Leary, our pet hellhound.

"Whe-where'd you get that?"

I said in between laughs, "I got it from my mom."

Percy's eyes went wider than before. "Whoa. That is one good looking blade. After you heal up I want to duel you. Me and Riptide against you and…"

"Sophia. Wisdom. Something that Annabeth tells me you have none of…"

"Hey, hey. Let's not go there."

We both got a good laugh out of that, but eventually I think Percy saw that I was wincing a lot from the pain. He told me, "Well, lunch just ended. There's some nectar here for you. And I gotta do something before I go crazy from doing nothing."

"I thought Chiron said you two were excused from duties for a week?" I asked.

Percy looked bewildered. "Wait, how'd you know that?"

I decided that I would tell him at the meeting on Sunday about my whole visit, six days from now. "I'll have to tell you later." I said trying to hold back a smile.

Percy looked a bit disappointed, but he saw my smile and got all dramatic, "Oh no, what shall I do for six whole painful days of waiting?"

I looked at him with all seriousness and said, "No. Just, no." He looked at me and we both cracked up.

"Well I do have to get going. And if you keep laughing like you do then you're gonna end up breaking something else. Put "Sophia" away and eat then sleep pardner." He even put air quotes around Sophia.

I nodded, shrank my sword, and then put it on the table. I did manage to sit up on the bed frame, with Percy's help, and managed to drink some nectar. After I set it back down he said that he had to go "practice." But, knowing him, he was planning on meeting up with my sister.

The next few days were _the_ most boring days I had ever lived. I sat around doing nothing, absolutely nothing. I tried to read my Greek architecture books, but my head kept being hit with a hammer so I couldn't concentrate. I tried moving around, but the best I could do was sit up against the head of the bed or lie back down. Laughing didn't hurt so much and more of my friends kept visiting me. But other than that, lying in a bed with practically a full body cast all day was not fun. Annabeth and Percy would visit a lot and we'd talk and laugh. Annabeth would check up on the progress of Olympus and Percy would crack jokes. One time it was before dinner and Annabeth and Percy came to check up on me together. At one point during that visit they kissed for a really long time, so I decided to get some fun out of it.

"Oh no! My virgin eyes! I'm blind, AAAAHHHH! Seriously guys, get a room or something."

After I said that they pulled away rather quickly and, in comparison, turned a shade of red darker than blood. I was laughing until I thought I felt my gut burst and they were glaring at me, but eventually joined in too.

Then it was Friday, the night of capture the flag. Technically I wasn't supposed to be walking around, but this was supposed to be a really big game. Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Hecate, Janus, Morpheus, Demeter, Hades, Apollo, and Dionysus versus Athena, Aphrodite (which really was just to look bigger because they never fought), Nemesis, Hebe, and a few other minor cabins that I couldn't remember. Overall, it looked like Athena and her allies would get stomped quite flat. So, because it was a big game, I got Chiron to let me spectate by the sidelines.

_Tonight's gonna be awesome_ I thought to myself. As I was strategizing in my head tactics, even though I couldn't participate, there was a knock on the door. I was in the cabin with just Annabeth at the time as we were planning the downfall of the other team, but when the knock came Annabeth went to go get it. At that point I decided that I would get some sleep before getting all excited over the big game. I took a sip of my drink, then lied back down and closed my eyes. I fell asleep instantly.

If only I knew how long I would be sleeping for. I felt like I just closed my eyes before I was being woken up already. I groaned and opened my eyes. Unfortunately my vision was a zero on a scale of ten and my brain was in Lala Land. I did manage to hear a voice say to me, "C'mon Aran. There's someone here to see you."

I slowly woke up and my brain and eyes started working again. I looked up to see Annabeth and a pair of sea green eyes. At first I thought it was Percy, but then I realized the eyes had a different look in them. Whenever I saw Percy, his eyes would show that he was in a good and joking mood. These were, well, different. I saw interest, admiration, confusion, and….. worry? When she saw me we sustained eye contact for what felt like a short time, but eventually Annabeth coughed. I sort of glared at her and she held up her hands defensively, smiled, and said, "Whoa, I was just coughing there buddy. Take it easy."

I couldn't help but smile and neither could the girl standing next to her. She had on what most campers did: an orange camp t-shirt and blue pants. Her brown hair fell casually to her shoulders. She looked about my age, like twelve or so. My brain went into overdrive trying to figure out who this was. I could remember, it was on the tip of my tongue, but I just couldn't tell who the face belonged to. Tan….. sea green eyes….. brown hair….. _DING!_

"Oh, Lyra. Hi." I said.

She smiled and said, "Yeah. Hey Aran. I didn't expect to see you in this shape."

"Yeah, well I didn't expect to see you visit me," I said while sitting up.

Then Annabeth said, "So Lyra, can I trust you to watch bonehead here?"

Lyra nodded and Annabeth said she'd check up on me before dinner. "So, I hear you got roughed up by a cow," she said raising an eyebrow.

I chuckled and said, "Yeah well, I didn't expect him to be in the borders. And "roughed up" would be an understatement. It was more like a murder attempt." Her eyes widened and through her eyes I could see fear and worry. "Don't worry; I'm here now aren't I? I've only got till Sunday then I can start walking around again."

She seemed to ease up then she asked me, "Aran, when did you get claimed?"

Oh, duh. She's still a new camper. I guess I could explain things to her. "Well, I got here last year and stayed for about a week before my mom claimed me. Why, you haven't been claimed yet?" She shook her head. "Well then I'd say you will be claimed by Sunday. You most definitely will be claimed because the gods took an oath that they would claim their children. Although I do think that I know who you belong to."

She perked up and asked, "Who?"

"Well, I need to be sure. Are you a good swimmer?"

She nodded.

"Do you feel better in the water?"

She nodded.

"And lastly, what color are your eyes?"

"Um, well you would know." I nodded then closed my eyes. I opened them when I was done taking in the information. "Well Lyra, it seems you are a daughter of-" but I was cut off by a hologram image of a sea green trident floating over her head. I stared at it and Lyra got the hint and looked up. We both looked back at each other with wide eyes and sat in silence.

Eventually I broke it by saying, "Well, looks like Percy had a sister. Lyra, you are a daughter of-"

"Poseidon," she finished for me. I nodded then smiled, then thought for a second. _How do I go from here? Do I be her friend even though she's from Poseidon? Well, I'm friends with Percy, so how much different could this be?_

"Well then, I think we need to tell someone. Could you find Annabeth, Chiron, and Percy and bring them here?" I asked her. I changed my mind on the fly and decided that I'd tell them all now. Besides, the suspense was killing me!

"Yep. Be right back," and she ran out of the cabin with a smile. I sat back and took a sip of my drink.

Then everyone came in. Percy came in first, followed by Annabeth, then Chiron and Lyra. I managed to sit on my bed without the support of anything else with my legs dangling off the edges. Percy talked first, "So what's up Aran? Another Minotaur find ya?"

I smiled then said, "Nope, but something really important has come up. First of all, I would like to introduce you all to the newest daughter of Poseidon," and I waved for Lyra to come forward. She was blushing, probably from all the attention, and Percy clapped her on the shoulder, "Well looks like I gotta little sister." He was grinning like a goof as he said that. Annabeth gave her a hug and Chiron whispered something to her inaudible to us. She nodded and they gave me their full attention. _Oh great, pressure_. I gulped then said, "Guys, there's something really big happening right now." I glanced around the cabin and signaled for Percy to go lock the door. He came back and I continued softly, "Yesterday night when I was attacked by the Minotaur, I realized that there was something amiss. First, the Minotaur was _within_ the camp boundaries. Second, the Minotaur was so much stronger than I remember it being from when Percy described it. It seemed, enhanced." I stopped for a minute to let everyone take that it. Chiron looked the most worried.

Then I continued, "When I was unconscious, something weird happened to me. Everything went black when I passed out, but then I was out of my body, like my physical body was on the ground in front of me but I was like a ghost. I could walk through things and people but I could still hear and see everything that went on. That's how I knew that Chiron told you and Annabeth, Percy, that you guys were excused from duties."

I could tell Annabeth and Chiron's minds were thinking a thousand things at once, except that Chiron must have been thinking worse things than Annabeth because his face paled.

"Continuing, I was also visited by my mother, Athena, before I woke up. She gave me this," and I took out and tapped Sophia turning it into my new Falcata, "and told me that there was still a Titan fighting the Olympians and that I would have to go on a quest to defend Olympus." I saw fear and doubt spread across their faces. Annabeth reached for Percy's hand, probably by instinct, but I think he was too busy thinking about what I said to register her hand. I finished it off by saying, "Chiron, what do you know about all of this?"

He was silent for a long while before he spoke, "Well, we cannot ignore a direct message from the gods. We will have to assign a quest." Everyone's eyes widened except for mine. A long silence erupted and finally Annabeth broke it by asking, "But why did you tell us?"

I remembered what Athena had told me and told them, "Athena told me that I would take three people on the quest. One she specifically said was Lyra. The other two she said I would know, and I think it's you two," I finished by pointing to Annabeth and Percy. Chiron started, "Well, I guess this is final. Unfortunately, we have to wait for your healing to finish as you, Aran, will lead the quest."

Now it was my turn for my eyes to go wide. "But-but, I'm so young. Percy or Annabeth should lead. They've saved the world, camp, and everything. I'm not nearly good enough to lead a quest."

"Now, now. Athena did visit you personally, and you told us she said that you would need three people to accompany you. _You_. My boy, it is time for you to lead a quest, just not now. We will check on you on Sunday, and if you are well enough you may participate in mild activities, such as sword fighting and archery. Until we are sure that you are fully healed, there will no speak of this."

The evening sunlight was filtering through the windows by the time almost everyone left. Lyra went back to her cabin to pick something up and came back to tell me something. "What's up Lyra?"

She got a sudden interest in the new marble floor, maybe blushing a bit, but eventually sighed then pulled out a pen. It was a deep green clicky pen (y'know, the ones that you click and the pen point comes out?). I stared at it, but then when I thought it was nothing special she clicked the end and the pen transformed into a five-foot three pronged celestial bronze spear. "Whoa. I'm not the only one with a new toy." I said.

"I found it earlier on my bed in the Hermes cabin. It came with a note that said its name, 'Abyss'." She informed me with a smile. I noted the color, dark blue, like an abyss.

"Well it sure looks cool. But anyway," I started as she pressed a button and it returned into pen form, "I need to start making my way to the property line." I started to get up, but fell miserably, again, and groaned. "Whoa, hold on there. Put your arm around my shoulder and I'll help you out," she commanded. I did as she said and tried to stand up again, this time with better luck. I managed to stand up relying heavily on Lyra for support but eventually remembered how to walk and only sporadically had to use her for help. At one point I returned my arm to my side and pulled out Sophia. I tapped it and stared at its beauty for a bit before putting it away. Eventually we made it to Half-Blood Hill, the biggest hill in the ring of hills surrounding the camp, and I sat near the base of Thalia's Tree. Lyra ran to join Percy and I had a perfect view of the whole entire field.

The game came and went. It really did come down to all strategy, and I was glad to know that I helped my sister pull off a magnificent win. She even shouted me out and the blue plumed team shouted in approval. I just smiled and blushed from all the attention.

Then, just when I thought things were going good, I heard a low, deep growl come from behind me. I knew it was a hellhound, so I thought it was Mrs. O' Leary, but when I turned I was wrong. Before me stood a giant hellhound, bigger than even our friendly hellhound. I heard someone shriek behind me and the sound of people shouting, trying to organize some kind of attack. I wasn't too scared, until it crossed the property line with almost no trouble. It snarled and bared its fangs, growling and approaching me slowly like it was trying to enjoy killing me.

Since my arm slings had been disposed of I could use my arms freely and my legs weren't all that bad. I managed to stand up and slowly back up. After my jump back to reality, I whipped out Sophia and tapped it against my hip. The blade grew and the hellhound faltered for a split second before it sprang. Time seemed to slow down and I knew what to do. I rolled to the side, jumped forward, and brought my Falcata down hard on the big, black hellhound's side. I got a really good sized cut in, almost to the bone, but the hellhound didn't even seem to notice. It just jumped again, and all I can say is thank the gods for adrenaline. Even though Kronos has "control" over time, that doesn't mean that he can control all of it, meaning that adrenaline is out of his influence.

It jumped, but I jumped back as well, barely avoiding his claws and teeth. I took this advantage to cut off his maw. It whimpered, but it remembered that it had claws, so it slashed violently at me. I bent backwards, and then sidestepped. I finished by stabbing Sophia into the hellhound's chest up to its hilt, then yanked it out. The hellhound yelled in agony then fell over onto its side before turning into a mound of gold dust. I too felt tired and dropped to all fours. I managed to tap Sophia against my hip and put it in a pocket before the whole camp came up behind me.

I heard Clarisse yell at the Ares and Athena cabins to form into a phalanx to protect me and Annabeth came up behind me. "Aran? Aran! Speak, say something!" I heard her yell. She was probably getting flashbacks to the time she saw me after the Minotaur.

I grinned at my soon to be stupid comment. I looked at her in the eye before telling her, "Something." I smiled then fell to my side and passed out.

**Hah, what a prankster! Anyway, I'm in the mood for some mint ice cream... :D**

**Don't forget to REVIEW!**


	6. I Duel My Halfsister's Boyfriend

**Alright! Two chapters in one day! Maybe I should start writting chapter 15... oh well. I'm hungry, and there's a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for me! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 6

**I Duel My Sister's Boyfriend**

I woke up once again. It seemed I was doing that a lot recently. I took in my surroundings and realized I was in my half empty cabin. My cabin mates were doing their normal business: reading, planning, strategizing, and looking at me. Wait, looking at me? No, only Annabeth was doing that. When she saw I was awake she slapped me right across the face, _SMACK!_ It was so loud all the people in the cabin jumped and stared at Annabeth with fear in their eyes. I don't blame them.

"You stupid fool! I… Argh!" She yelled at me. Again I could tell she was glad I was okay despite her recent anger.

I was wide eyed at that moment, but I, being the smart guy I was, said, "Percy, help!"

Annabeth turned, like I predicted to look for her boyfriend, and I took that opportunity to run into the boys' bathroom. I made it, just barely closing the door in time. I whipped out my phone and texted Malcolm, my favorite half brother, _Tell me wen shes gone plz._

A couple minutes later he replied, _Shes gone its safe._ I released the breath I didn't know I was holding and walked out of the bathroom. I looked around, just to be safe and she was nowhere to be seen. "Thanks Malcolm, you're a lifesaver."

"No problem. I think Percy wanted to see you by the arena, something about a Sophia?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, thanks. Oh Sophia's the name of my sword. You know I'm too young for that stuff," I told him. He just shrugged like he knew something I didn't. I didn't mind it much and walked out of the cabin to make it towards the arena. My body felt fine and my mind was more focused than usual. I don't know why, but this meant I'd be able to kick some Percy butt!

If only I knew I was gonna get slapped again I would've stayed inside. But I didn't, so the same cheek that was slapped before and turned red was slapped yet again, even harder if that's possible. It stung, a lot. I looked back to see who the culprit was and, no surprise, it was Annabeth. After I looked back she hugged me so fiercely I had to close my eyes before my eyes popped out. "You really need to stop doing that. If you die I will personally bring you back and kill you again." She told me. I guess it finally sunk in that I should stop being so reckless.

I told her, "You know I wouldn't go looking for trouble, it usually finds me. But now I'm fine, so you can kinda let go of me before I suffocate."

She pulled away and looked me in the eye. "Just be careful tonight."

I nodded and she walked towards the Poseidon cabin. _Where else_, I thought to myself. I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out. I had a text from Percy, _Meet u after dinner in the arena_. I still had a bit of time before dinner, and since it was Sunday, I could go practice a bit with Sophia.

I made my way towards the arena and as I walked in I saw Nico Di Angelo in his black pants and black t-shirt just about to go out with Mrs. O' Leary. His black hair fell to his shoulders and his black eyes almost screamed death "Nico!" I yelled to him.

He turned and saw it was me and called the hellhound back. "Hey man. I heard you've been getting beaten up lately? You can handle the Lord of Time's army but not a teensy weenie hellhound?" he joked.

"Yeah well that hellhound was bigger than Mrs. O' Leary, so it was a bit more difficult to beat. You're going out for a walk with her?" I asked pointing to the friendly hellhound who was chewing on a giant shield/Frisbee.

"Yeah. I better hurry, so I'll see you after dinner." And with that he waved good bye and jogged out with the hellhound. I then proceeded to make my way to a row of straw dummies in Greek armor. I tapped Sophia and went to work on the dummies. I started simple, then moved onto advanced moves all the while testing my limits. If I went too hard then I'd reinjure myself, but I went all out and felt fine. Percy was going down.

I heard the conch horn in the distance so I put away Sophia and started walking towards dinner. That is until I smelt something, a bad smelling something. _Oh, that's me_. I decided against going to dinner smelling like that, so I made a mad dash to the cabin and ran through the shower. I came out smelling much better than before, so I knew I was ready to go.

When I made it to dinner it was half over. Some campers already left going Zeus knows where, but most were still there. I sat next to May and Malcolm. A Dryad brought me my food and I offered to Athena. _Help me tonight please._ After making my request I went back to my table and vacuumed down my food. I was the second one done at my table, and boy did I feel stuffed. Then my brothers and sisters started talking to me. "So I hear you're fighting Percy tonight."

"Yeah man you gotta wreck him for us."

"Are you all ready? What sword are you using?"

I smiled at the last question/statement. "Oh, you'll see. I can't tell you, no spoilers!" That got me a couple of groans and fake punches and a couple of laughs. I glanced at Annabeth and she was smiling. Then I glanced at Percy sitting side by side with Lyra. They were talking, but when he finally saw me he smiled and gave me a thumbs up sign. Lyra turned too and waved while smiling. I waved back and my Malcolm and May started nudging me.

"Hey, you guys wanna stop?" I asked.

"Naw, we couldn't do that." they both said at the same time. I rolled my eyes and saw that Percy was doing the same to Lyra. Then Malcolm and May started nudging me again. "Ooooooo, Aran likes someone!" May sang to my siblings. The table burst out laughing while I felt like crawling into a hole. My face felt like it was burning and I felt like my whole body turned red.

"No, I actually don't. I'm only twelve guys, geez!" I retorted. The laughter died down before Chiron stamped his hoof getting everyone's attention.

"Campers! Another night of fabulous food!" The pavilion burst into applause. I hesitated at first because he usually makes his announcements before dinner starts. "Tonight will be a special night. As soon as I am done making this announcement, a friendly cabin match will be held in the arena!" More applause. I saw where this was going and wondered how it got this way. "Tonight, our best swordsman, only son of Poseidon, and savior of Olympus, Percy Jackson," He paused while the cheering skyrocketed and Percy stood up with a grin, "Will duel an honorable hero, tactician, son of Athena, and watcher of construction of Olympus, Aran Aggio!" I stood up and smiled while my table went crazy with applause and cheering. "This would not usually be a big deal, but since we are talking about Percy Jackson, I felt the need to inform everyone. Betting will be allowed. I personally will be betting on Percy, but who knows? Let the betting begin!"

If the noise of the cheering crowd had been any louder then I would have gone deaf. As the crowd in the pavilion started getting up some campers came up to me and Percy wishing us luck. Annabeth kissed Percy and told him he'd get another if he won. I rolled my eyes as some of my friends came up to me. Nico patted my back, Lauren gave me a hug and Lyra shook my hand. "You'll do great." She told me. I nodded and looked over at Percy and Annabeth and they whispered something to each other. Percy nodded in agreement at whatever Annabeth said.

Finally it was time. I stood in one of the fighters' locker room on one side while Percy was in the other on the opposite end of the arena. The iron bars didn't stop me from seeing that the arena was packed; every seat had a camper or nymph. My heart was racing so much I thought it was going to jump out of my chest and run a marathon. I meditated a bit thinking of how I was going to bring Percy down until Chiron spoke into a microphone, "Aran and Percy, you may get ready for battle. You have five minutes until you will be called out." The crowd cheered a bit. I clearly heard most of the camp chanting, "Percy! Percy! Percy!" while I thought I heard the Athena cabin chanting my name. It was really nerve wracking. I put on my silver and gray Greek armor while staring into a full body mirror making sure everything was on right, but decided to go against wearing a helmet because it would just slow me down. I picked up a shield outfitted just for me and stared at it while sitting back down; I figured there was still a minute left. I thought about the stakes: If Percy won then the Athena cabin would have to take over all of their chores for a month. If I won, then the Poseidon cabin took over all the Athena chores for a month _and_ we would get an extra serving at dinner. Annabeth and Percy shook on it, so now the pressure was stacked up. I prayed one last time to Athena to give me strength and heard Chiron over the loudspeaker, "Percy and Aran, your time has come. Please enter the arena!" The iron gate slid up giving me a passage out to the fighting area. I picked up my owl engraved shield, put in on my left arm and slowly made my way out.

As I stepped out into the lighted arena I smiled. I came into sight to the entire arena and the cheering increased a lot. I walked to the center then smiled and waved to the crowd. My friends were sitting in the front row: Nico, Annabeth, Lyra, and Lauren. They all waved and I waved back. Then I turned to see Percy walking out. He was wearing sea green Greek armor and also didn't have a helmet and had a shield with a green trident on it. He was smiling at me, and as soon as he came into view of the crowd I don't think I would ever hear again. The crowd stood up and went crazy. Whistles, clapping, shouting, cheering, jumping up and down - it happened all at once.

Percy stood next to me and we shook hands. I could just barely hear him say over the crowd, "Good luck. Have fun." I nodded and told him the same. We turned to face Chiron in his own little booth with Mr. D. He nodded while smiling and we both to three steps away from each other. We looked at each other dead in the eye and smiled. Then Chiron said, "Fighters! You are fighting for your cabin's honor and your own! No intentional maiming and no killing! LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!" The crowd roared as we took out our weapons. Percy uncapped Riptide and I tapped Sophia. When I pulled out Sophia the entire camp, except for the Athena cabin became quieter; the Athena cabin was roaring their heads off at my surprise. I also knew that when Chiron had said "no killing" he was talking to Percy because he was invincible and I wasn't, so even if I did bring my sword down on his head it would bounce off.

Percy smiled and then the real battle began. We started circling and then I jumped forward. I wasn't worried about getting sliced or dying because there was no killing. I swung down and Percy blocked. He countered by trying to sliced at my legs but I jumped and landed on his sword making him loose his grip on it. The crowd roared again. Percy smiled again then went for close combat. I figured it would be unfair if I still had a sword so I kicked Riptide to the side and threw away Sophia. The crowd quieted a lot, probably because of my decision, but I didn't care. We went close quarters for a long time. We were punching, kicking, jumping, dodging, and blocking. We used our shield as weapons.

My plan was to try to tire him out because of his Curse of Achilles. It seemed to be working until he summoned the water from the crowd and coated himself in it, turning himself into a water monster. The crowd went wild thinking that he'd won, but I thought otherwise. I knew that riptide had returned to his pocket, so I held my hand out to my sword and yelled, "SOPHIA!" My yell seemed to have been magnified that even Percy looked astonished. We were panting, actually I was panting and he was fine. Sophia returned to my hand and we went back to sword on sword. Eventually we even threw our shields away so it was just swords.

The match seemed to go on forever, but then something happened. Percy had disarmed me and kicked me in the chest knocking me to the ground. When I hit the ground something seemed to click into place and I felt like I knew everything. I stood up which surprised the crowd. It had been nuts when I fell but now it was silent. I looked at Percy and he had wide eyes. I held my hand out and yelled, "SOPHIA!" again. My sword returned and I went absolutely nuts. I saw all his weak spots and knew what I had to do. I went all out offense. I backed Percy up a good ten feet before I disarmed him. He smiled and ran to his shield. I knew in my head that a shield would not do a thing for me, and as soon as I thought that Percy brought Riptide out from his pocket and turned it into his sword. The crowd was deafening, but I kept my focus. I lunged, swung, dodged, rolled, and jabbed. I once again knocked his sword away from him and pressed on.

I was pounding away at his shield until I broke it. That's right, cleaved it right in two being careful not to touch Percy's arm in the process. Percy looked like I just asked him I long division question. I took this opportunity to swing my sword down low. He jumped like I expected him to and followed up by bringing my leg around and tripped him, knocking him flat on his back. I heard the crowd go silent, no sounds could be heard, while I put my sword tip up to his neck. Then I said just loud enough for the crowd to hear, "I win." Percy smiled and I put my sword away and helped him up. We were covered in sweat and extremely drained of energy.

The crowd was silent until Percy spoke after he got up, "Well? Don't you guys have something to say?" I smiled as the crowd went ballistic. The whole crowd was chanting, "ARAN! ARAN! ARAN! ARAN!" Percy took my arm and held it up while the cheering somehow got louder.

I shook Percy's hand again and he gave me a hug. I knew Percy wasn't a sore winner or loser so I wasn't surprised. I wasn't a sore winner either so I told him, "Great match man. I honestly didn't think I'd win." This made Percy laugh.

Then my senses seemed to calm down, a lot, like I just came down from a sugar high. Chiron came over to us as we were waving to the crowd. He put a gold laurel over my head and said to the crowd, "And we have a winner! Aran Aggio! You have bested a legendary hero! What do you have to say?"

He held a microphone close to my mouth and I said, "Well, I would like to say that Percy, good match and good job. I couldn't have had more fun and I could tell you feel the same. I would like to thank Percy for making it here and giving you all such an entertaining match. Did you guys enjoy that or what!"

The crowd roared in response. I went over to Percy and held his arm up. The cheering lasted for a good fifteen minutes. I shook Percy's hand one last time before Chiron said, "Thank you all for coming. The fighters will return to their locker rooms and when they come out you may congratulate them."

Percy and I made our way to our respective locker rooms after we picked up our shields. Before we went inside I heard Percy shout, "Oh, by the way you owe me another shield!" and he held up the two halves with a smile. I waved back to him and took a mental note to get another one for him.

When I returned to my locker room I had a visitor. "Mom?"

Athena smiled and walked over to me while I looked into her stormy gray eyes. Her white blouse and jeans said that she just wanted to talk informally to me. "I am very proud of you Aran." Then she surprised me by giving me a hug.

I stood there shocked the whole time and then when she pulled away I knelt and said, "Thank you kindly for helping. I shall give you more offerings tomorrow at each meal."

"Oh no, my son. It was payment enough to see you defeat the savior of Olympus and best swordsman of the day. It was quite a good match." I stood and bowed, not knowing what else to do and then Athena continued. "Well, I must go now. I have to watch over the construction you know. Six more rooftop gardens were finished. Goodbye Aran."

I averted my eyes while she revealed her true form and disappeared. Then I sat down and took a long, deep breath. "That was incredible." Then I started to take my armor off. I felt really exhausted, so that motivated me to move a bit faster. I took a quick shower and changed into the extra clothes I had brought. I took one last look at my shield and the owl winked at me. I looked around to see if someone was playing a joke, but no it was real. I smiled, picked up Wisdom, tapped it and returned it to my pocket. Before I tapped it I said, "Thank you so much."

I walked out of the arena to be greeted by the whole camp. They weren't paying attention to me. That is until someone said, "THERE HE IS!" They all turned to face me and the mob ran towards me. I stood there stunned not even being bothered to move or yell. The crowd picked me up and suddenly they were chanting my name and brought me to the pavilion to an elevated platform. They dropped me off on top of it then crowded around the platform and knelt. Percy came up next to me and patted my shoulder. I smiled and then Annabeth came forth from the crowd carrying two laurels: a gray one and a gold one. Annabeth came up and stood in front of me facing the crowd.

She yelled to them, "Rise, and honor the new best swordsman in camp, Aran Aggio!" The campers stood and cheered. Annabeth turned towards me and put the laurels over my head. She took a step to the side so that I could take a step forwards. I smiled and the crowd chanted my name. Eventually the dryads came and brought a feast for me and Percy. The whole camp also got food and it turned into a celebration party. There was no music, but that didn't stop everyone from having a good time. Percy and I sat at the table Chiron and Mr. D usually sat at while everyone else sat where they wanted. All throughout the meal campers came up to us and congratulated me and Percy. First was Annabeth who hugged me and went to kiss Percy. But as he was leaning in she backed up and he fell forward. I couldn't stop laughing and neither could Annabeth.

"What was that for?" he asked her.

"Well you didn't win. I wasn't gonna give in to a loser." She said with a smirk.

He got up and Annabeth hugged him. Percy went back to eating, but I was still laughing for a bit before I thought it was safe to eat again without choking.

Next was Nico. He gave me a high five and looked at Percy in disgust. Then he said he was joking and we all laughed.

Then came Grover, a satyr. He gave Percy a high five while he told me good job. I didn't mind his aloofness, I didn't really know him.

After Grover was Lauren. She gave me a hug and told me good job while she high fived Percy.

Last was Lyra. She came up to me and said, "That was really amazing! I had no clue you could fight so well."

I chuckled and said, "Well neither did I. I would've never thought that I'd beat Percy in a million years." She laughed and hugged me before going too Percy and high fiving him.

Eventually the campers started to filter out, giving me and Percy pats on the back while they were going. Percy left way before I did, partly because Annabeth had promised him something. I think I knew what it was, but I shuddered at the thought of it because, come on. I was twelve!

I was the last one left in the pavilion. It had to have been close to midnight. I eventually got up and started walking back to the cabins. Then a thought struck me, _what if more monsters attack?_ I quickly pulled out Sophia and tapped it. It gave a faint glow, but that really wouldn't help. I carefully tip-toed my way back to my cabin. All the cabins were dark and it was eerily quiet. I took a quick look behind me and thought that I saw a figure standing next to Thalia's Tree. Then it ran down the other side in a panic, and then it was gone.

I ran back to my cabin. There was no second thought; it was just all out sprint. I didn't stop for a second until I had my hand on the doorknob. I turned it and quietly made my way to my bed. All my siblings were asleep, so I had to be extra sure that I was quiet. I finally made it to my bed with only one floorboard creaky loudly. I didn't even bother changing into pajamas and plopped down in my bunk. I was asleep as soon as my body touched the bed.

**Cool. So hopefully I have good news...**

**The chapters get longer :D! I have them averaged at around 4,000 words and the last chapter I wrote had a little more than 5,000! Tell me if you guys like the long chapters or not.**

**Aaaaaaaaand, don't forget to review!**


	7. The Prophecy is Given

**Hello all. Just finished the profile update, so here I am updating mah story. Another good chapter, I suspect.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 7

**The Prophecy is given**

The next day I was the first to wake up. I looked around the cabin and it was still dark. I could barely make out the sleeping figures and desks and such. I got up feeling fully rested even though I probably slept for a couple of hours. Nevertheless I got up and changed into new clothes, which ironically looked the same as the previous ones. After I decided that I would go watch the sunset, which was something I hadn't seen too many times before.

I headed out with Sophia's hilt in hand. I didn't want to chance another run in with a monster. All the Greek style buildings seemed to glow faintly, by I knew that was just the very early morning light. It was gradually getting lighter, so I had a feeling that I would have some time to kill before the sun actually came up. I slowed my pace and admired the serenity of a quiet camp.

I almost jumped out of my jeans when I saw a figure sitting on the beach. I tapped Sophia and slowly and carefully walked next to the figure. Before I came within five feet of the person they turned around to look at me. I sighed before I said, "Oh, Lyra. You had me scared for a minute." She half-heartedly smiled before turning back to look at the horizon. "Um do you mind if I sat with you?" She nodded still not facing me and I sat next to her putting away Sophia.

We sat in silence, but it wasn't awkward or hostile. It was really peaceful. The only background noise was the sound of the waves lapping on the shore, creating white foam. I took my shoes off and felt the sand in between my toes. It was really neat being at the beach. I wished I went there more often.

Finally I broke the silence by asking Lyra, "So what are you doing up this early?"

She kept her eyes on the horizon and said, "Couldn't sleep."

I could tell she didn't want to talk about it, but I could tell that wasn't the real reason. It might have been part, but not the full. I sighed and laid down to gaze up at the slowly fading stars. I spotted several constellations such as a hunter, Scorpio, and Hercules. It was getting progressively more difficult to see them because Apollo was just about to come around in his sun chariot.

"What are you doing up?" She asked me quietly.

"I don't know really. I just woke up and decided to watch the sun rise. I haven't seen it many times so I thought seeing it again would be nice," I told her.

"Why haven't you seen it a lot?" She turned to face me as she asked.

I looked back at her sea green eyes and said, "Well, when I was still living with my dad I usually slept in a lot and in the city you really can't see the sun. Then when I learned I was a demigod I was whisked away here. That was the time of the battle for Olympus. I really didn't have time then just to sit back and enjoy my surroundings. Now that everything has calmed down I've been getting up earlier to try to see the sunrise, but I end up waking too late and missing it."

She seemed to have sympathy and softened a lot. "What was your dad like?"

This caught me off guard. I waited for a bit deciding whether or not to tell her. I really didn't like to talk about him because, well, he sucked as a parent. As I was deciding she said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you that."

"No, it's okay, really. I just…" I took a deep breath before continuing, "My dad wasn't the best parent in the world. He honestly hated me. I asked him one day why he hated me so much and he… he punched me," I said looking away as I could feel the tears start to rise. "I had to learn to cook by myself and pretty much lived on my own while he was too busy watching his stupid work. I sometimes wouldn't go home and just walk around Central Park because I didn't want to see him. Then when I'd come home he'd yell at me and threaten to… to b-beat me." I really wanted to let it all out, but that would show that I was weak, and there was no way I'd do that after I just became the best swordsman. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked back at Lyra. Her eyes were filled with sympathy and sorrow and some anger.

"Oh, that's terrible. I would assume you don't go back to live with him?" She asked still looking at me.

"No, I lived with my friend for a bit. She had a kind family and they let me live with them if I wanted to go to school. I ended up going to the same school as her after the winter break. I honestly can't remember what my dad looks like, not that I have a problem with that. Sometimes I wonder how my mother could have fallen for such a jerk." There was a slight rumble in the distance, which I knew was Athena getting mildly ticked off at what I said. "Yeah yeah, I'm sorry." Lyra was glancing at the sound nervously and I reassured her, "Don't worry. That's just the gods getting annoyed at what you say. They won't do anything unless you really say a bunch of bad things and don't give them more offerings."

She nodded then looked back at me and said, "You know, you should be thankful that you had at least kind guardians."

I caught where she was going, but I was inclined to ask for some reason. "Why did you ever have a normal life?"

She shook her head and stared at the horizon. I focused on watching her trying to get an answer. I had the feeling that she was debating whether or not to tell me like I was before. Finally I looked into the distance and said, "I'm sorry. If you ever want to talk, though, I'm here."

She nodded and started to speak, "Well, I can't remember what my life was like before I came here, except for one thing. I remember having a fight with my mom while she took me out to go on a cruise. I can't remember the details, but I got really mad at her and I… guess I started a storm and capsized the ship."

I just looked at her. Her eyes were just… so deep. I hadn't known her for long, but I could already read her eyes like a book. "Well I'm sure it your mom couldn't have been all bad. You probably had one of those fights were it gets a little out of hand. You didn't intentionally start a storm, so it's not your fault. I'm sure you probably had a great mom."

She smiled and stood up. I followed her lead for some reason and she turned to face me. Then she hugged me and I hugged her back. _Why does this feel so weird?_ I thought to myself. _Must've been the lack of sleep_.

She pulled away and then we stood there next to each other watching the sunrise. It really was beautiful. "It's so beautiful. So much better than I remember." I said out loud. Lyra smiled and then she said, "Well, I'd better get back before Percy starts to worry or something. I'll see you later Aran," and then she ran towards cabin three. I continued to stand there and enjoy being at the beach.

A little while later I heard a _clip clop_ from behind me. I prayed it wasn't a psycho centaur and turned to face the noise. Thank the gods it was only Chiron. "Hey Chiron, is something wrong?"

He was wearing a dark blue silk dress shirt, which I thought was a bit weird, and he had taken out his tail curlers. "We need to talk about your quest and get you your prophecy."

My mood dropped dramatically at the last word. I really wanted to go on a quest, but I would've preferred it be something like pick up a package from Hermes or something and not go save the world.

"Um, when?"

"Now." I took a deep breath before he continued. "We need to get you to the oracle so you can receive your prophecy. When you get back we will have a meeting then you will set out with your party and fulfill the prophecy."

I sighed, "Ok, so how do I meet the Oracle?"

"I believe I can help with that," an unknown voice said. Then out from shadows came Mrs. O' Leary and Nico. "Just hop on my friend's back here and we'll be on our way. I'll come along to make sure you don't end up in China, although it wasn't so bad when I went there by accident. But that's not the point. We need to go before the sun gets higher or else it'll get harder to shadow travel." My mouth didn't close the whole time he was talking.

"How did – she – What?" I was dumbfounded.

Nico laughed and said, "Just jump on. We'll be there and back before you know it."

I really didn't trust Nico, but this was the only way to get to the Oracle, so I didn't have a choice. I jumped on Mrs. O' Leary's back after she stopped jumping and chasing her tail. We walked over to the forest after waving goodbye to Chiron and I asked Nico, "So how exactly does this work?"

"Well, all shadows are made of the same substance, and underworld creatures can use this darkness as a portal to other places. So because of this –"

"We could go wherever we want," I finished. It seemed simple enough. I just had to hold on to the hellhound's collar really tight.

"Ok, I'll meet you there. I'm not sure of her exact address, but just tell her the home of the Oracle, New York," he instructed.

I nodded and bent down to Mrs. O' Leary's ear and said, "Um hey. Could you take me to the home of the Oracle, New York?" She sniffed the air and ran straight into a tree. At least it looked like she was going to, but before we hit we became surrounded in extremely cold darkness.

We popped out somewhere in upstate New York. It was colder than on Long Island and rockier. We were on a summit overlooking a big city. A blimp was flying over the city with a banner that said something like **RDEA NTRIZEERPES**. In the center of the city were a couple of skyscrapers that were taller than the rest. I jumped down from the hellhound's back and she curled up into a ball and went to sleep. I stood there admiring the city and waiting for Nico until I was sent flying to the ground. "Owww."

"Heh, oops. I didn't expect you to be standing there. Well anyway, we're here." Nico said.

I got up and rubbed the back of my head while my vision cleared up. "So where exactly does she live?" Nico pointed to the biggest building in the center of the city. "Ah, so how do we get in? There's no way they'd let us into that kind of building.

* * *

"GET OUT!"

We ran out of the building as fast as we could until we made it back to our summit with our sleeping pet. I said, "I told you. Now what do we do?" while panting.

We stood up when we caught our breath. "Well I thought that would work. But now I guess we have to shadow travel into her room. Luckily I got her number, so we should be able to go in no problem."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time. But if it's the only way, then let's go," I said while grabbing his arm. We started running into the mountainside and the darkness engulfed us again. A couple thoughts later we landed, hard, into a dark room, making as much noise as a stampede of elephants.

"Ow," I said again.

"Well it was the only dark place in the room, so deal with it." He sounded a bit tired but nonetheless I opened the door.

"Oh my gods."

Turns out the closet we landed in connected to the bathroom. And on top of that there was a girl with short, frizzy red hair and had a white towel wrapped around her that decided to scream at the top of her lungs. I turned crimson red as I quickly turned around and ran back into the closet and left Nico out there to more or less get killed. I definitely heard Nico say, "Um hi Rachel. Uh, I'd better let you get, uh dressed before we uh ask anything." Rachel stopped screaming and I heard a loud _smack!_ "Yeah, I'm gonna go hide in the closet again." He whipped open the door and I saw that his face was bright red and the girl looked like she wanted to murder us.

"Dude I think we'd better get out of her before that mortal calls the police on us." I told him quickly and quietly.

It was too dark to see him, but I had a feeling that he was still bright red. "No, that's… she's the Oracle. I just wish we could have met, you know, better."

My mouth was hanging open after he said that. "Well, you can go out first. I've got a quest to go on and I don't want to get killed before I start it."

"Oh no. It's your quest. You should go out first."

"Oh I couldn't. Remember? Ladies first."

"Then by all means go out first."

"No, you're going out second."

"No way buddy, I'm going out first!" I laughed after that. "Oh Styx!"

After a long time, at least it felt like a long time, there was a knock on our door. I elbowed Nico and he opened the door. The first thing I saw was a hand slap Nico, and then it grabbed him and pulled him out. I heard her start screaming her head off at Nico about coming in when she only had a towel on. I quietly made my way out to see Nico hanging his head and Rachel pointing and yelling at him. She must've gotten bored because she remembered I was there too, but when she turned to face me she said, "Oh, I've been expecting you. And was it your idea to go out first?"

Nico's eyes were pleading me to say yes, but I didn't want to deal with the Oracle's wrath, so I played it safe and said, "No, Nico pushed me out the door, but I was planning on going out first, so yes." In one sentence I said yes and no, so therefore she couldn't yell at me or Nico. Nico mouthed _Thanks_ and Rachel sighed and calmed down. She was wearing blue shorts and a pink t-shirt. She led us out into her room – at least that was what I thought it was – and gave us a seat on a bean bag. Her walls were covered with paintings and pictures of monsters and places.

"Well, I've been having a bunch of visions lately, so I think you need a prophecy." She told me. I nodded and then she opened her mouth and green smoke billowed out while her eyes turned a bright green. It sounded like three Rachels were speaking at the same time. She said, "_I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask."_

I was stunned for a second, but stood up and asked, "What is my destiny?"

_Four shall go to the isolated land_

_Where the Titan recruits an awful band_

_One shall become a legend_

_Only after he is abandoned_

_With their hearts filled with sadness_

_They will give up hope and fall to the badness_

_One shall reignite their passion_

_And return home in a timely fashion_

_But that legend will be forgotten_

_Until discovered at the home_

She closed her mouth and started to fall forward before Nico caught her. He set her down on her bed and wrote her a note saying that we were leaving. We left via shadow travel and returned to our summit with our friendly hellhound running around and chasing her tail. Neither of us spoke until Nico said, "We better get back to camp. It's probably close to breakfast time." I nodded and jumped onto Mrs. O' Leary's back and told her that we needed to set back to camp. She sniffed the air and ran into the darkness.

A couple of cold seconds later we were back in the familiar forest of Camp Half-Blood. I slide off our pet's back and she went to sleep again. Nico said it tired her out, and he looked pretty tired as well. I bade them farewell and went back to my cabin.

I arrived as my sisters and brothers were starting to wake up. Annabeth was just coming out of the girls' bathroom in her usual clothes and was tying her hair into a ponytail when she caught sight of me. I walked over to my desk pretending like I was going to do work and Annabeth followed. She bent over so that I could talk to her. "We need to talk to Chiron after breakfast. Tell Lyra and Percy too." She nodded and walked off.

Breakfast seemed to take forever to arrive. When the conch horn finally blew I sprinted to the pavilion. The dryads brought out our food and then we offered to the gods. I was at the front of the line because I needed to talk to Chiron fast. I noticed that he wasn't at his usual table, so I figured that he was in the Big House. I gave all my food to Athena, then went back to my table to set my plate down. I wasn't really hungry for an omelet, so I had no regrets about giving it all to my mother. I saw Percy and Lyra on the way out and nodded to both of them and they did the same. I overheard some campers complaining about how much money they lost from betting on Percy. I smiled at that and continued my way to the Big House.

The council room was empty except for Chiron who sat in his wheelchair. I walked over to him and pulled up a nearby chair. "Good to see you back my boy. Now, what exactly did the Oracle say? Wording is important."

I nodded and told him what the Oracle had told me. I did leave out the last two lines because I was honestly scared of them. Even though this "legend" would be found it still means that he'd get lost.

"Hmm. I see. Well, let's talk about it when… Ah they've arrived."

I turned my head to see Lyra, Percy, and Annabeth walk in. They pulled up chairs around me and I told them what the Oracle told me, leaving the last two lines out again.

Their minds were going into overdrive. Annabeth explained most of it to us. "Well, the four is obvious, but the destination we need to go is not clear. It could either mean Alaska or Hawaii."

I thought about it for a second then said, "Hawaii. The Titan's name is Krios, Lord of the South. He would be as farthest south as possible, so that's Hawaii."

Everyone nodded in agreement, then Annabeth continued. "We will probably fight many old and dangerous creatures, but whoever defeats these will become the legend." More nods. "He will probably get separated from the group and he will go in solo." More nods again.

Then I spoke, "The next two lines probably deal with the groups' response to the abandoned legend, but one of them will remind them of home and they'll go back."

"Yes that seems very true. Well, this was a pretty straightforward prophecy. When do we set out?" I asked Chiron.

"Well, I would like you all to rest here for another night, but that doesn't seem likely. If there is a Titan on the loose then we will need you all to set out as soon as possible. I would suggest you start getting ready. As soon as you're done meet at Thalia's Tree and Argus will drive you to Percy's house." He told us.

"Why my house Chiron?" Percy asked.

"Well, you and Annabeth both have your licenses, am I correct?" They both nodded. "Then you both can take turns driving until you reach California. Then you can take a boat or ship or what have you to Hawaii, and then take it back." He explained. We all nodded then started to leave to get ready.

**Alright, so I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review. Remember, review!**


	8. I am Blessed and Face my Doom!

**Hello all. Another chapter, just like I said.**

**For those of you who who care, there is a bit of Romeo & Juliet in here... I'll give ten drachmas to whoever points it out first :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 8

**I am Blessed and Face my Doom!**

In my cabin I decided to pack the basics in my yellow duffle bag; two architecture books, a toothbrush, and extra change of clothes. I put my cell phone in my pocket and then neatly stuffed my bag. I packed pretty nicely, although it wasn't as nice as Annabeth's, but I wasn't one for packing and being neat anyway even though I was a son of Athena. Annabeth was done a couple of minutes before I was and kept complaining how long I take to pack.

"Hey, just wait until we're waiting for Percy," I said.

"No because he packs faster than you. You keep trying to repack to make everything fit. Percy throws everything in and zips it up which is faster," she said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and finished repacking my bag for the tenth time. I was satisfied with it this time. I was just glad she didn't bring my OCD into the conversation.

We walked after saying goodbye to our cabin and went to Thalia's Tree. Turns out Percy and Lyra were already waiting there with Chiron in horse form. "Told you," Annabeth said quietly. I stuck my tongue out and kept walking. We got up to the top and Annabeth ran to Percy while Chiron came over to me.

He said, "Aran, we need to talk before you head out. It's pretty serious."

I nodded and told the others to wait for me in the car. It was a silver 2010 Toyota Corolla. It was pretty small, but it could fit all of us and Argus seemed to like it. He's our bodyguard and has eyes all over his body. The rumor is that he doesn't talk because he has an eye on his tongue.

Annabeth sat in the front while Lyra sat on one end of the back row and Percy sat next to her in the middle. Chiron looked around and bent close to my ear. He whispered, "Aran, you have a special blessing on you." I looked at him strangely and he continued, "It must have been placed on you recently or else I would have seen it earlier. It is called Athena's Blessing. The blessing, when activated, gives the host immense knowledge and battle awareness, but only for a short time." I nodded taking this in.

"That would explain how I beat Percy. That would explain why Athena visited me in the locker room," I said. Thunder rolled in the distance of the clear day. It wasn't irritated sounding, more like proud sounding. I figured that was my mom telling me good job for figuring it out.

"Yes. But it comes with a price. The wounds you receive cannot be treated using nectar or ambrosia. The only known way to treat those wounds is to use mortal medicine and heal like a mortal would," he told me, looking at me like he knew something I didn't. He probably did, but I just nodded and told myself that I couldn't let anyone know, or else they could and then backstab me or something. Hey, you never know.

I walked down and scooted in next to Percy. It was a bit cramped, but it was bearable. I closed the door and sat back hoping to get some sleep before we arrived. I did, luckily.

I woke up to a car rocking back and forth. I heard people talking and then I heard a voice say, "Come on, he's still sleeping. Carry him in Percy." I could tell it was Annabeth scolding Percy. I think I saved Percy a harsh scolding by opening the door and rubbing the grogginess out of my eyes. I could make out Central Park and I remembered that Percy's apartment was in Manhattan.

I opened the door slowly and lethargically and they turned their attention to me. "Well it's about time," Percy said. I ignored him and walked over to the sidewalk so that I wouldn't get killed by the city folk. After Argus waved goodbye and drove off.

"Ok. We need to find a rental car place and get a car. If we do this by say noon then we could make it to a hotel in Pennsylvania and crash there for the night. Then we could drive to maybe drive to Indiana, then maybe to Montana, and finally Northern California. After that we could take the boat that was reserved for us then make our way to Hawaii and back. Sounds good?" I explained and asked. They nodded and Percy said that his mom would want to know about this, so he went into the apartment while the rest of us went to Central park and found a tree to sit under.

We were sitting for awhile and Annabeth said that she'd check on him and mumbled something about not being on time. I laughed quietly to myself and looked at the reservoir in front of us. It was peacefully quiet in the park, which was unsettling for demigods. I glanced over my shoulders and didn't see any monsters so I relaxed a bit. I stretched my legs out in front of me and brought out my sword.

I tapped it just to see it in full form and put it away. Then Lyra spoke up, "Aran? What were the last lines of the prophecy?" I told them to her and she thought quietly for a second. "Are you sure that there wasn't any more to it? It sounds, I don't know, incomplete?"

I looked at her and she was looking at the reservoir. I didn't want to tell her, but I didn't think it would be that bad seeing as how the hero would get found. "Yeah, there is more. I just didn't want to tell anyone because I think it applies to Percy. I mean come on; he's probably going to be the one to defeat the Titan and the last two lines would devastate anyone he's close to." I looked back at the reservoir and recited the last two lines, "_But that legend will be forgotten until stumbled upon at home_."

We sat there in silence until we saw Percy and Annabeth walking back and laughing. That really made me feel bad, knowing what would most likely happen to him. Annabeth would forget him and then find him again. That would be terrible. I glanced at Lyra and she was probably thinking the same thing. "We have to tell them."

"We can't. If he knew then his last days wouldn't be as enjoyable. It's not like he's dying either. Let him be ignorant. He's having so much fun right now with Annabeth. We can't let that be destroyed." I replied.

She hesitated for a moment then nodded. We got up from our tree and walked over to them. They were still laughing about something. "What's so funny eh?" I asked.

"Nu-nothing. Just something that Percy's mom said," she said and then they had a new round of laughter.

We decided to walk to the car place and they were laughing all the way there. We got some strange looks from people and some were just being perverts. I glared at each one and they stopped looking. I eventually ended up behind the group and Percy was in front.

What really ticked me off was this one hobo who decided to take a fancy to my sister and Lyra. He walked up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. I told the group to wait and turned to face the guy. He was definitely a hobo, raggedy clothes and a torn scarf. I felt bad for him, until I figured out what he wanted. "Could you maybe walk to the side a bit so I can get a better view? I'll pay of course." He told me. He had dirty black hair and yellow eyes.

"Dude, get the **** outta here before I turn you into a grease splat on the pavement." I told him almost yelling. The others were huddled into a group and talking about something.

The hobo sighed and said, "Oh come on. What's the harm in looking?"

"DUDE THAT'S MY SISTER AND HER FRIEND! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" I screamed at him. No one except my group seemed to notice this.

Percy came up next to me and said, "Um, hey there uh mister. Can we help you?" My face was purple at that point. I was doing my best not to beat the living daylights out of this perv.

"Percy, he was trying to bribe me into moving so he could check out Annabeth AND Lyra. We can most certainly NOT help this loser." I told him. Percy looked like he was also about to punch this guy as well, but then he calmed down a bit.

"Apollo, what are you doing? You know Annabeth is with me and Lyra's only twelve. I would find it very offensive if you continued." My jaw dropped.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Apollo? The God of light, music and poetry? _That_ Apollo?" I asked.

"Well yeah. Percy, I am a god of music and poetry, two things that work best on getting the ladies. I would make a request to perform a least a poem eh?" Apollo the hobo said.

Percy stood there for awhile before he nodded slightly. "We can't refuse the gods, although I still don't like it." He told me. Apollo smiled and I stared in shock at him. Percy called our siblings over and introduced them to Apollo. "This is Apollo. He wants to… er… perform a poem."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow and stared disapprovingly at the God and Lyra looked uncomfortable. "Fine, make it quick. We need to leave for Pennsylvania in twenty minutes." Annabeth said.

Apollo started glowing and then held up his hands dramatically, trying to settles an invisible crowd.

_The warm city_

_Speaking for itself_

_I am so awesome_

He bowed and we clapped half-heartedly. "Now I have a question for each of you." First he turned to Percy, "How would you want to go out?"

I knew he was talking about the prophecy because he is also the God of prophecy. Percy said, "Um, peacefully? Not surrounded by monsters?"

Apollo the hobo nodded then turned to me, "And you. Who do you think cares about you?"

I was a bit confused by this but answered truthfully, "No one."

Apollo stared at me for a second and then he turned to the girls. "And for the ladies, can I have your number?"

Percy chuckled and I got a bit ticked off. "Yeah, when I die." Annabeth told him.

Lyra had some difficulty though, "Um, well I don't, I mean I, er, I really shouldn't, um…"

It looked like Percy was going to step in but I decided to quicker, "She doesn't have a phone and why would a god want a demigod's number?" Apollo looked at me again dead in the eye.

A few seconds passed and he finally said, "Oh yeah. That would be wrong wouldn't it? Well I have to go now, although I have left a gift for you right around the corner," and he pointed to the corner ahead of us, "I do hope you enjoy it. Let's just say it was a gift from your old buddy Apollo yeah?" He started glowing brighter this time and we all looked away while he revealed his true form. It would have stunk if we got burnt to a crisp before the quest was over.

Percy ran ahead while I trailed behind the girls. They were laughing about something, but I was more focused on what Percy found. He was staring at the object with a big smile on his face. Annabeth and Lyra saw this as well and ran to him. I was the last, but I got over the shock quicker.

I yelled, "Shotgun!" while Annabeth called, "Driving!"

We laughed and ran to the front of the blue 2010 Toyota Corolla and jumped in. The sides of the car had grey waves painted on them, which probably signified Annabeth and Percy. The insides had tan leather seats and a dark blue dashboard. On the dashboard was a digital clock, a bunch of button to change radio stations, two cup holders, and another panel that displayed what song was playing. On the rear-view mirror was a button that switched between the temperature outside, the direction we were travelling, and our MPG. We kept it on the temperature and direction and turned on the radio to a random station.

We got in and Annabeth started the car. It roared to life and Annabeth honked the horn at Lyra and Percy who were still standing in awe. They snapped out of it and ran to the car. Percy jumped in behind me and Lyra behind Annabeth. Annabeth handed me a map and then we started our trip to Pennsylvania.

We didn't reach a hotel until around nine that night. We stopped twice: once for gas and the other time for restrooms and food. We arrived at a Marriot and magically had a reservation. Chiron had Iris-messaged us along the way and told us about our magic reservations at whichever hotel we stayed at. We thanked him kindly and now it payed off. Double suites. Heck yes.

"Shotty bed!" Annabeth and Lyra yelled as they opened the door. We indeed had suites and they were connected by a central room. There was only one bed in each (don't ask me why because I had no clue) along with a small kitchen in the main room as well as a couch and a 48' HD TV. The walls were tan with flower patterns and the carpet was an interesting shade of red, lighter than blood but still eerie. There were two bathrooms in the bedrooms and two smaller 38' TVs. It really was awesome.

"Darn it! Way to go Perce," I said. The others laughed and I dumped my stuff on the floor. I looked at the couch at the same time as Percy, but unfortunately I reacted a bit late.

"Shotty couch!" Percy yelled with a grin. I mentally slapped myself for being slow and walked off into one of the bedrooms.

Behind me I heard Lyra, "I call this one!"

"Ouch, there goes my hearing," I said rubbing my ears. Lyra laughed and plopped down on her bead. I walked back out of the room and called everyone together.

"Ok, now that we know where three of us are sleeping, which room do I get?" I asked the group.

They all looked at each other smiling and yelled, "BATHROOM!" I went wide eyed and started to protest but Percy tackled me to the ground and Annabeth grabbed my stuff and threw it into a bathtub while Lyra laughed. I tried fighting against Percy's grip, but it was seriously tough with his Curse of Achilles. He rolled me over and put my arms behind my back.

I decided to play along and said, "You'll never take me alive, coppers!"

"Well son, you've done some bad things. It's about time we lock ya up. What do you think Chief?" Percy asked Lyra.

"Yes, he will be tortured upon entrance! Ready the tub of doom!" She called to Annabeth. She grinned and took my duffle bag out of the tub and started the bath. An warm bath by the looks of it, at least. Percy somehow got a hold on some rope and tied my hands up. He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder. Lyra was ahead of us and I could hear everyone laughing. Percy stood me up on the edge of the tub and Lyra took out Abyss and prodded my back.

"Time ta jump ye scalawag!" I heard Annabeth say.

I grinned mischievously and said, "Fare thee well, oh cruel world. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Oh happy bathtub!" I heard my friends crack up behind me and I jumped. The tub was pretty deep so I didn't feel worried. I got as much air as possible and made a big splash. I think Percy realized what I was doing, so he willed himself not to get wet. Annabeth and Lyra on the other hand got soaked in cold water.

Yes, freezing cold water.

The water was freezing, I won't lie. I had some trouble standing up and was worried for a split second that I might drown, but I felt a hand grab my arm and pull me up. When I got up I was intensely shivering. Annabeth looked angry and cold, but she was still laughing. Percy was rolling on the floor and it looked like his gut would burst soon. Lyra was the only one not laughing. She was looking at be worriedly and was dry, so I figured that she willed herself dry after she got wet.

At that point my knees started to buckle and my eyes started moving slower and slower. The urge became so great to close my eyes that I thought if I even blinked I wouldn't open my eyes again. I couldn't feel my body anymore, like my body decided to stop feeling period. I couldn't even feel my heart beating anymore, although I knew it was, but not a lot.

I tried to get out of the tub, but I ended up falling forward on a crash course with the ceramic floor. _Oh boy,_ was the only thought I had before I stopped falling abruptly. I heard someone yelling but my brain would not work and I couldn't tell who said it. Then I felt more arms on me and I was instantly dry. I could feel myself being picked up and carried onto something soft. I heard more speaking and thought I heard someone crying.

Then I finally closed my eyes and everything went dull.

Then I jumped right into a dream.

I was walking, no running, along the shore. I could feel I was headed somewhere important. I glanced down to see my feet moving faster than I had thought. My shorts were cut and torn and had decent size holes in them and even looked like they were burned in some spots. I wasn't wearing a shirt and I had a six pack, which I currently did not have. My sneakers were dirty and muddy and my hair was a lot longer than I like it, just about at my shoulders.

Then I heard a noise behind me, or rather a bunch of noises. I glanced over my shoulder to see a large group of hellhounds and dracanae, snake women, chasing after me. They were catching up and I didn't have much time.

Then a cyclops jumped out from the woods on the side of the dirt road. He went to slam his spiked club over my head, but I had better reflexes and slid under his huge legs. _The look on his face is priceless, _I thought while continuing to run. I could hear the monsters behind me getting closer and I ran faster with newfound strength.

Up ahead I could see the dirt road turn right at the base of the hill. On the big hill was a huge pine tree. _Gotta keep going. Gotta make it. Come on, come on!_ I was at the base of the hill when a felt a cold chill go down my spine and I instinctively took a big step to the left. A hellhound's claws slashed downwards in the spot I was just standing. Then five of the hellhounds appeared in front of me, coming out of the darkness.

I stopped and whipped out my sword. In a matter of seconds the monsters behind me caught up and then I was surrounded. All around me I could hear hisses and growls from the monsters. I held my sword in front of me and prepared to attack. _I've been in this situation before. I can fight through them,_ I thought, although I didn't know why. I turned to the cyclops who was lumbering towards me and the monsters backed off a bit.

I looked at him and stared him in the eye. I could hear myself growling in anger at him. He had a lop-sided grin on and he only wore a loincloth. His pale and dirty skin was revolting and the smell was no better. He experimentally swung his club a few times and then we charged. I was about to jump forward to attack when I felt myself being jerked backwards.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I looked around to see I was in a bed under a bunch of covers in the clothes I was wearing before. _What happened?_ Then I got a bit cold and I remembered what had happened. I scolded myself for being that stupid, but then I thought that the water shouldn't have been that cold.

I decided to stand up and look around a bit. I got up slowly and stretched out, the sound of my bones cracking echoed around the room. I chuckled quietly at that, somehow finding it funny. I got progressively warmer until my fingers responded immediately. I walked over to the door and opened it, leading me into the main room.

I walked in and found Percy sitting with his arms around Annabeth like he was comforting her. They both looked tired, but Percy looked like he was struggling not to blink or else he'd conk out.

I opened my mouth to say hey, but my throat was extremely dry. I walked over to the kitchen and got myself a glass. I was bringing it to my lips when I heard Annabeth say, "Don't drink that." I nervously put it down and backed away from it and walked to the couple on the couch. I sat on a nearby chair and Percy tossed me a coke. I drank it, but the carbonation made me cough.

"Ugh, thanks Percy." I wasn't trying to sound sarcastic, but I think Percy took it that way and he sheepishly smiled. My throat felt better so I decided to ask what happened.

"Well, after you jumped in me and Percy were too busy laughing to realize that you were turning blue. Lyra pulled you out and yelled at us to help. Percy helped pull you out while I cut the ropes on your hands." At that point I looked at my hands and just then realized the ropes were still attached to my wrists. I held up a finger and brought out my sword and cut them the rest of the way. I put my sword away and nodded for Annabeth to continue.

"After that we rested you on the bed and gave you some nectar. You were looking almost ocean blue at that point. Lyra was freaking out more than we were and she eventually left while we were gathering extra blankets to put on you. You warmed up but then you started sweating and thrashing around in your sleep."

I thought about this for a bit. I could tell this was probably one of the stupidest things I've yet done in my life. And also I could tell that for some reason Percy and Annabeth felt guilty for my stunt.

"Guys, do you think that you're responsible for what I did?" I asked. They nodded slowly looking at each other then actually looking at me for the first time since I woke. I chuckled at their thought process. "Guys, really it wasn't your fault."

"But we could have stopped you."

"I should've made the water warmer." They both said at the same time. I chuckled again.

"Really, it's no big deal. Did you guys tell me to jump in? Nope, that was my choice. Mine and mine alone. You guys could've influenced me, but I still jumped. You guys couldn't have done anything about it… By the way, where's Lyra?" I said looking around.

Annabeth and Percy looked better after I talked to them. Annabeth slowly pointed to the other bedroom, but I could tell they didn't want me to go in. I cocked my head to the side and their eyes were screaming _NO!_ Too bad I ignored them.

I got up and went opened the bedroom door and peered inside. It was dark and the only thing that caught my attention was a figure on the bed. I left the door open and walked over to the bed. I sat on the edge bed so the person's front was facing me. I looked down and tucked some loose chestnut hair behind her ear. She woke up at my touch and stared at me before springing up and tackling me with a hug.

I was so surprised I almost fell off the bed. I caught myself and then heard Lyra crying a bit. I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back up and down. She seemed to relax and eventually withdrew her arms from around my neck. She had tears in her eyes but wiped them away quickly as she sat next to me. "Hey Lyra. Did I wake you?"

She stayed silent and I asked her, "What's wrong?"

Yup, pathetic, but she sighed and said, "I thought you were dead, Bonehead. I haven't realized what I can do with my powers, and they almost got you killed."

I put two and two together and figured out what she was talking about. "Don't worry about it. I'm alive, aren't I? I couldn't leave you guys while there's still a prophecy to fulfill. And besides, it wasn't entirely your fault." She looked at me with confusion. I chuckled and said, "Was it you decision to make me jump? No, I was the one that jumped. I do have to say, that was easily the stupidest thing I've done yet." I said laughing a bit.

Lyra continued to stare at me in confusion and asked, "But aren't you mad at me? I mean I almost killed you…"

"Nope. It wasn't your fault. It was a bunch of accidents stacked on top of each other with mine being the biggest. Seriously, don't worry about it."

She smiled at the end and I hugged her to let her know it really wasn't her fault. She hugged back and then we walked out into the main room.

**What? Warm water and then frrezing cold water? I think someone is unaware of their powers... Or maybe Annabeth's just plain cruel. Naaaah.**

**Remember, REVIEW!**


	9. I Work Out with Trees

**Hello all! Turns out I forgot to get the chapter up after I finished my update concerning said chapter. Whoops!**

**Anyway here's chapter nove. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 9

**I Work Out with Trees**

"Ok, so what time is it?" I asked my group.

"Well, it's around two in the morning. Percy here already got the right idea. We should get some sleep before continuing," she said pointing to a sleeping Percy next to her. I laughed quietly and nodded. Lyra didn't say anything and went back into the room, after which I heard a loud _whump_. I helped Annabeth pick up the raven-haired boy and set him on the bed I was sleeping on earlier. Annabeth said she'd sleep with him and I decided to annoy her by putting my hands on my hip and tapping my foot and looking disapprovingly at her like our mom might do. She blushed and told me to go back into the tub.

I laughed on my way out and decided that I would actually go and take a bath. I was still a bit cold so surrounding myself in nice, warm water would be just what I needed. I got an extra pair of clothes and ran into the bathroom in Lyra's room.

After I came out I realized I had no bed. I frowned and slept on the couch. As I was falling asleep the only thought on my mind was my dream.

Turns out I had another dream.

I was in a large cavern with stalagmites and stalactites. An open area in front of me the size of our arena had a large man standing in the center. There were ram horns on the helm he was wearing and he held a large lance and shield in his meaty hands. He was easily eight feet tall, maybe even taller.

His Greek armor was gold and black. He looked really intimidating and I hoped the warm surge I felt wasn't me peeing my pants. I was staring and shouting things at him but couldn't hear them. I could only hear two dark, ominous laughs, one sounding like it came from underwater and the other I realized was the man in front of me, or the Titan for that matter. That was definitely Krios.

We were about to start fighting when the ground started shaking. I lost my footing and fell down. Then I woke up to Annabeth standing over me and shaking the whole couch. "Get up! Come on, we gotta go now!" I mumble something I couldn't even understand and then she dragged me off the couch and dropped me on the floor.

"Ow…"

"Well that's what you get for not waking up! Now let's go! I already got shotgun and Percy's driving. We'll probably make it to Indiana today if we stop twice." She explained to me.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "Ok, lemme get up and grab my stuff then we can go." She stood above me impatiently tapping her foot. I grinned and grabbed my duffle bag. "Are Lyra and Percy already out there?" She nodded and we walked out.

On our way out I glanced over at the bellhop. That was a mistake, because the woman smiled and revealed fangs and a forked tongue. Her red suit started to ripple and I sprinted out of the lobby grabbing Annabeth's arm.

"What are you doing Aran?"

"You'll thank me later. Now we run!"

We did and eventually reached our blue car in the parking lot. We hopped in at the smiling Lyra and Percy and yelled at Percy to go. He responded by slamming on the gas and running over the sidewalk and onto the road not bothering to take the proper exit.

"Ok, now why did you yank me out of there?" Annabeth asked me after we got a ways away.

"Ok, there was this bellhop on the way out. I looked at her and when she saw me she smiled. She had sharper-than-normal teeth, like of a dracanae and she also had a forked tongue. I didn't want to chance anything so I grabbed you and ran." I told her.

She thought about it then reluctantly said thanks. I beamed as she said that and asked innocently, "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

She glared at me and everyone except Annabeth laughed. We drove for a long time in silence before I got bored and fell asleep.

When I woke up I heard Annabeth telling Percy that we needed to stop for gas and to stretch our legs. I sat upright and asked, "Where are we?"

The sun was starting to set behind some hills in the distance. "We are in Indiana. We're going to go a bit further and then stop at a hotel for the night after we get some gas here. Wake up Lyra while you're at it," Annabeth said.

I gently shook Lyra until her eyes shot open and sat bolt upright. "Um hey. We're in Indiana getting some gas." She looked dazed and then nodded. I looked out the front and watched as we pulled into some old gas station.

We all got out as some people came over and started washing our car and filling it up with gas. The crew told us it would be ready in an hour, so we took the time to take a walk. Something about those guys didn't settle alright with me and I found myself glancing over my shoulder more often.

We decided to spar while we waited. We set up a round robin and started fighting. I got thrashed by Percy this time, because I couldn't activate Athena's Blessing and Lyra surprisingly beat Percy. I won the rest of my matches and Annabeth did the same. It turned out that Annabeth and I were fighting in the last round. We decided to make it a best two out of three. Annabeth won the first round and I won the second. As I finished disarming her one of the crew came over and told us the car was ready. Percy went to bring it over to us and Annabeth and I took a break and stood shoulder to shoulder watching Percy. Lyra went to go with him, only Zeus knows why, and Annabeth and I started getting ready to go again.

As Lyra was just about to open the car door a hand shot around and covered my mouth. Another grabbed Annabeth and we were being pulled backwards into a forest. We were struggling and kicking as hard as we could but it was useless. I looked at Annabeth and she had pure hatred in her eyes. As a desperate attempt I bit the hand and drew blood. While the hand loosened for a split second I tried to yell for my sword, but it came out something like, "SMPHYA". Obviously that didn't work because that sounded nothing like "Sophia", so we were dragged deeper into the woods. Eventually after much dragging and a sore ass, we were brought to a clearing with a tree and some ropes tied to four pegs, each with a separate rope.

Annabeth's eyes widened and she started a stronger struggle. I was pretty much exhausted, but watching Annabeth reminded me that we were in danger. I picked up too, and eventually our heads were knocked together, very hard. We both stopped and grabbed our heads and groaned. Eventually I blacked out for a bit.

When I came to I immediately saw Annabeth. She had ropes around her ankles and had tape over her mouth on the other side of a tree. I too was tied down and had tape over my mouth. I looked around and saw the tree next to us. It wasn't too big, but if you used it for a catapult you'd end up in New York. And standing next to the leafless tree was a man. He had raven-black hair and sea green eyes, but not ones that belonged to Percy or Lyra. I figured Annabeth already had a plan to get out of here. My arms were free, but I had no weapon. I looked at Annabeth and she showed me her empty dagger holder on her arm.

"Well, well, well. Looks like it's time to start the fun," said the man. His toga was really out of place. He looked angry, but his Greek getup was pretty funny. He even had the sandals as well.

He saw me laughing and glared at me. "Looks like we have a volunteer to go be ripped in half first!" I knew who this was. This was Sinis, the tree bender. He tried to kill Theseus on his way to his father but ended up getting killed by his own trick.

He bent the tree and held it in front of me. If he let go, that would be the end of my head. I reluctantly took hold and would have been flung if it wasn't for the ropes. They held my feet to the ground but they didn't make it any easier really. I could feel my back start to stretch. I debated about letting go, but that would mean the end of Annabeth on the other side.

I looked at her and her eyes were telling me to let go. I shook my head and then I felt something overcome me. I got stronger and knew what I had to do. I got a better hold on the tree and bent it all the way to the ground. Sinis had been laughing and sat on a chair, but when he saw this he got really confused. This was all going as I had instantly planned.

He bent over as well to see what was wrong with the tree and I took this opportunity to get him good. I knew that if I let go in the position I was in now I'd kill Annabeth. So, I pushed the tree as hard as I could away from me and the tree did as I wanted it to. It snapped back and hit Sinis in the head, knocking him unconscious while the tree slammed right next to Annabeth. The tree straightened and Sinis sank to the ground. I ripped the tape off my mouth causing immense pain and even ripped off the rope from my feet.

I don't know how I did it, but then afterwards I went over to Annabeth and ripped her ropes as well. She hugged me after that. After she took off her tape she said, "Serves Sinis right; we should tie him up to the tree."

I nodded and I tied him up. I tied him good so that when he came around he would be unable to move for at least three hundred years. "Well that should be good enough," said an impressed Annabeth.

Then came the part I was dreading. I calmed down immensely and felt pain erupt from my back while I almost collapsed. If Annabeth hadn't caught me I would have given myself a nasty concussion. But she did, and she helped me back to the car.

Percy came out and met us halfway as well as Lyra. Percy helped Annabeth, who looked pretty tired, and Lyra helped me. I saw my sword in the same spot I had left it and called, "Sophia!" and it came to me. I tapped it and stuffed it in my pocket. We all started get into the car when the sun had just disappeared, turning the sky a vibrant shade of yellow and orange while darkness started to fall.

"What happened to you guys?" Lyra asked.

I was too tired to speak so I nodded at Annabeth and she told them, "Well after you guys left to go to the car Aran and I got kidnapped by Sinis, you know the tree bender? Yeah, he tried to rip us apart, but Aran's blessing saved us."

Percy grinned at me and Lyra stared in shock. I gave them a weak smile and got into the car. Annabeth sat in front of me and she fell asleep after taking a drink of nectar. I followed her lead and soon I was being shaken awake by Percy.

The room was the same as the last one, so even though it was at a different hotel I could tell that our reservation was magic: always giving us the same room. I didn't mind, although I did hate it when I got the couch again. There was no water incident, but Lyra did test out her ability to freeze or thaw water. It was pretty cool, but after freezing my water for the eleventh time it got annoying.

I had another dream that night.

I was stuck in a giant hole. This was an unusual hole, though. The floor was ceramic tile and the walls were made of smooth obsidian. As I sat down trying to think of a way to get out a ladder appeared and an old man stood at the top. He said, "They have forgotten."

He started growing brighter and brighter until I woke up.

My eyes shot open to Lyra hovering over me. "Hey Aran. We need to start going, but I need to talk to you before we go. Meet me by the car ten minutes before we leave." I nodded and sat up and stretched. She walked away into her room and I glanced at the TV, which displayed the time as twelve-thirty. We needed to leave at one, so I got up and packed my stuff. I made a split second decision to get Lyra to come out earlier. Percy and Annabeth were watching something in their room and, by the sounds of it, Percy hated it. I laughed to myself and found Lyra in her room watching some special about dolphins.

"Hey Lyra. I think I need to talk to you about some things as well. So maybe we could leave now?" I said.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just grab my bag and we'll go down together." She said. I nodded and went and told Percy and Annabeth that we were going to go grab something to eat before we left. I didn't like lying to them, but I didn't want them to worry about my dreams. After all, they were about Percy. It almost brought a tear to my eye watching them sitting together, holding hands, and just being together in each other's company and I knew that it would be destroyed. I quickly shook my head and met up with Lyra at the elevator. We rode down in silence and walked out to the car in a continued silence.

When we got there Lyra started talking, "Ok, I've been having these dreams about someone. I've dreamt about them three times. The first time I was sitting in a tree and saw someone getting chased by monsters. I alerted camp and began to run back when I heard someone yell like they were in excruciating pain."

She paused for a second and continued, "The second was about leaving someone to go fight the Titan. I was so scared for them and as I was running with two others I heard a scream and the cave the person went into blew up."

She paused for one last time before she told me her final dream, "The last dream was about someone glowing gray and fighting a ton of monsters. They had him surrounded and he killed all of them. I don't know what any of these mean." She looked panicked and scared at the same time. I didn't know what to do so I told her my three dreams.

"Ok, well it looks like one of our dreams is intertwining with the others. Our first dreams take place in the same area. But the other two… I don't know. I think they are Percy, but I've never seen Percy glow gray. The other person could be Annabeth, but I don't know what could make her glow gray either. That leaves you or me, but we still don't know," she explained. We both thought for a minute before we heard Percy and Annabeth call our names.

"We'll worry about this later," I said to her. She nodded and we greeted the couple coming towards us.

The final leg of the trip to California took about two days. The date was the eighteenth of June and Annabeth thought we'd be done by the twenty-third. I was pretty happy, because Chiron IM-ed us that we could relax for a day in California after we finished. We were ecstatic, to say the least.

The ride after the incident at the gas station in Indiana, the trip was quiet, safe, and smooth. We moved at a rate of three states a trip, so it almost made a week since we were gone. It really was cool to see the real world and not just the local Long Island. Everything seemed so new to me and I found myself staring at every rock and tree that we passed.

Finally we arrived at a hotel next to some lake in Northern California. It was pretty darn big, having at least twenty floors. It was beautiful with the surrounding image of trees, a lake, and green grass you can't find in camp.

We made our way to the receptionist and I quickly glanced at any nearby bellhops, just to be sure, you know? We got our magic room and it was on the sixteenth floor. There was a pool with a retractable room in case of rain or precipitation or things of the like. I thought it was really cool and so did Annabeth, but Percy and Lyra were too busy looking at the pool. Annabeth and I laughed while we dragged a still staring Lyra and Percy to the elevator and hit the button with the sixteen and started riding up.

Along the ride Percy and Lyra started fidgeting a lot, like more than a usual ADHD kid does.

"What's up Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked, obviously concerned for her boyfriend.

"Well we're gonna be pretty high up, and you know how a certain God of the sky doesn't like a certain son of the Sea God," he told her, "I'm just a bit worried I guess."

Annabeth and I chuckled a little. "Don't worry man, you have the favorite daughter of Athena here as well as one of her siblings. Athena happens to be the favorite child of Zeus, so I don't think he'd blast you out of a hotel with us around," I said to him. He seemed to get this and leaned back against the wall. Annabeth rested on him until we had to get out.

Too bad we thought this would be easy. There was a big chain-link fence in front of us, blocking our way to our room right on the other side with a sign that said, "DETOUR: TAKE PLATFORM TO RIGHT". It took a few minutes to decipher, though, with my dyslexia, but once I finished I also realized the fence was made out of celestial bronze.

"Well, I say we cut through it," Percy said. Annabeth and I rolled our eyes while Lyra shrugged. He took this as an "OK" and proceeded to bring Riptide down on the fence. All was good until the sword glanced harmlessly off the fence.

Percy tilted his head sideways and looked at his sword in disbelief. Annabeth and I shook our heads slowly. Lyra was confused as well until I explained, "It's made of celestial bronze. It wouldn't break from our weapons. We'll just have to follow the detour outside, but keep your guard up. There's clearly a monstrous force at work here."

They nodded and we stepped out the ceiling-to-floor window and onto the platform, sixteen stories above the ground and about five feet wide held up by support beams. Percy and Lyra looked terrified and they hugged the wall of the building to keep as far away from the edge as possible. Annabeth intertwined her fingers in Percy's and Lyra looked as pale as a ghost, so I held her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She looked at me and blushed and I did too, but it just felt right, so I smiled the best I could at her. She seemed to calm down and loosened up as we continued.

The platform was pretty long. We obviously couldn't crawl through any of the room windows, and the other hallway window was on the opposite end of the building. When I looked to my right I could see the pool below us and a magnificent view of the water. I couldn't see the actual beach because of all the buildings in the way, but it still took my breath away. The Pacific was sparkling in the evening sun and I even stopped walking to admire it.

I was brought back to reality by Lyra tugging my arm gently. I snapped back to looking at the stretch of platform in front of me and I saw Lyra looking a bit pale again. I walked next to her and smiled again. She gave a weak smile back and we continued.

It is so typical of seemingly easy trips to get screwed up or complicated.

Ahead of us I could see a janitor in a dark blue jump-suit. He was leaning against the wall and was looking down at his shoes. Reluctantly Percy let go of the wall and walked around the man. I instantly thought he was a jerk because he wouldn't move for a terrified person.

As Lyra and I got to him I leaned to Lyra and whispered, "Come on, we have to go around him." She looked at me with pleading eyes that screamed _NO!_

I sighed and stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders softly. She looked down and I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head to face me. "Listen, I know you don't want to do this, but we have to. I'll be right next to you the whole time. I promise nothing will happen to you. Do you trust me enough?" I asked softly.

She hesitated for a bit and then nodded. Her face paled and I smiled reassuringly. "What if you close your eyes and I lead you to the other side?" She thought for a bit then nodded. "Ok, I'm going to walk behind you and point you. We'll go as fast as you want. There's no rushing. I will put one hand on your shoulder and one on your waist…" I trailed off blushing at the thought of it, but Lyra nodded like it was no big deal.

I walked behind her as she closed her eyes. I took a deep breath and put my left hand on her shoulder. She immediately grabbed it with her right hand and I told her softly, "Don't worry, it's just me. Relax." She was shaking as I spoke but calmed down as I finished. I nervously placed my right hand on her waist and she placed her left hand over it. I was blushing wildly, but I managed to stay calm on the outside. Her hands were sweaty and she was keeping her eyes shut tightly.

"Ok, I'll steer while you walk. I promise, I'm right here and you'll be ok. Start walking whenever you are ready," I spoke calmly to her. She nodded and started shaking a bit more.

We stood there for a good couple of minutes and all the while we stayed in the same position, including the lazy jerk janitor. Finally, by the time Percy and Annabeth made it to the window already and waited for us, Lyra took a step forward. I blushed even more thinking of what Percy and Annabeth would say to me.

"There you go. Good job," I encouraged. I could've sworn I saw the edges of her lips turn upwards slightly.

She continued to take small baby steps, and by the time we got to the other side she was practically walking. The whole time the janitor didn't even acknowledge our presence.

"Ok, it's over," I told her in her ear. She shuddered and slowly opened her eyes. When she opened them all the way she let out a huge sigh of relief. I smiled and she looked over her shoulder at me. I think she realized the way our hands were and she took a step towards the rail and grabbed on to it, releasing my hands. I blushed and was about to go over to her so we could finish this trip but two hands clamped on my shoulders.

"Hey -," was all I could before I was forced to the ground with a grunt and forced to turn to see the janitor.

He was smiling smugly at me and said quietly so only I could hear, "Clean my shoes you stupid demigod." My eyes widened at the last word. Then he took out a sword and held it to Lyra's back, unknowingly to her. I knew that if I spoke that would be the end of her, and I also couldn't get my sword out fast enough. I nodded slightly, glaring daggers at this creep. I glanced at his nametag and it said something like, "RNIOSC".

He brought out a bucket of water from out of nowhere and handed me a rag. Then Lyra spoke, "Aran? Where are you?"

The janitor brought his sword up and I panicked. "I'm here, just don't turn around. Keep your eyes on the building and don't look away. Promise me you'll do this." I ended almost pleading, but I stayed calm.

She nodded and said, "I will. I trust you, Aran." That made me smile but I was jarred back to reality when the man dragged me over to his left foot so his right foot could kick me in the chest… oh gods.

I knew who this was. He was Sciron, the guy who kicked people off a narrow path to be eaten by a giant turtle. I had a feeling he was still angry that Theseus had sent him off his own cliff and he was venting on me.

I reluctantly dipped the rag in the water and started rubbing his dirty shoe. I was thinking of all the possible things I could do, but I came up with nothing, which was unusual. The only thing I could do was diligently clean his stupid shoe.

Eventually I finished and I looked up at him. I saw him bring his foot back, and then _THUD!_ Pain instantly shot up from my chest and I heard several cracks. I didn't dare even make an attempt to speak, so I bit down, hard, on my bottom lip, drawing a lot of blood.

The jerk was standing over me, ready to push me off the edge since I didn't fall off from his kick. He was angry and completely ignored Lyra.

_You know what? Screw it, I'm gonna take this guy down with me!_ I thought to myself. It hurt getting up quickly, but I managed to knock the sword out of Sciron's hand and, after a bit of a painful struggle, had him leaning over the edge. He had a hold on me, though, so I couldn't just push him without falling myself.

"Lyra, turn and look at me," I said to her. She turned slowly and gasped at what she saw. "Lyra, I want you to get to the window and tell the others what happened. Get out of here and finish the quest. You have to trust me on this," I said. "You need to go, NOW!"

She shook her head violently with tears streaming down her face. "NO! I won't leave you! Just hold on, I'll go get the others."

She started to go but I called her back. "Lyra, I know you want to help," and I was kicked in a very, VERY, uncomfortable spot. I winced and continued in a higher tone, "If the fates say it's my time, then I'll die here. If they don't then I'll see you soon."

I was about to turn back when Lyra let go of the side of the building and ran towards me. I thought she was going to slap me or punch me, but instead she kissed me.

As cheesy as it sounds I was filled with new strength. I closed my eyes as she held my face in her hands. I didn't realize it, but I started to tear as well, thinking that it really was the end of me. She pulled away and ran to the window with her head down.

"Aw, how cute. Now it's high time I killed you," I heard the angry janitor yell. He started to struggle but I looked back at him with pure hatred. I felt even more powerful now and I took out my sword, holding Sciron with one hand.

I had no qualms about what I was going to do. Since he was there then he had to be a monster, so killing him wouldn't result in an actual casualty (understand?). He knew what was coming and tipped himself backwards, sending both of us over the edge.

**Oh to noes! What will happen? Will he die? What was up with that kiss? Is there a romance breaking out?**

**Find out next time! Remember, REVIEW!**


	10. That's One Big Shell Ya Got There

**And touchdown! We have officially landed... on planet... erm, i don't know where that was going so I'll just stop now.**

**Good times, though. Anyway, yet another chapter as Aran comes closer to fulfilling his prophecy! Or not... Only I know!**

* * *

On another very important note, we must discuss the amount of reviews I have... or rather the lack of reviews. I previously stated on my profile that I would not continue this story - or any stories for that matter - until I got 25 reviews. My dear sister told me that 25 is rather a lot, so maybe I underestimated the amount of good in peoples' hearts. Is it really that difficult to even type something such as 'good'?

So, after some thought, I have decided to lower the amount of reviews I need to 5 or 10. Honestly, 5 would be great, but if I get those five within a month, then I would update my profile daily again and then probably wait for the next five until I post another chapter. If you happen to like this story, then review! Tell all your friends to as well! As of now, I have written up to chapter 19, and I can say that the story WILL get more interesting. The prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, and it won't for several years if no one reviews! So please, REVIEW!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

Chapter 10

**That's One Big Shell Ya Got There**

Naturally he wouldn't make it easy for me; nothing ever does. I had had it with this guy.

As we fell through the air we continued to fight. He somehow brought out a curved dagger from his back pocket and fought me. We still had a hold on each other and it was hard to use my sword like a sword, so I spun it around and held it so that the blade would be facing down if I held it in front of me.

We continued to fight for a bit before I got a good slice on his shoulder and his dagger left his hand. I followed up by driving my sword through his chest. As I pulled my Falcata out he turned into a cloud of dust. Then I remembered there were still two problems: I was still falling through the air, and the giant green shelled and blue bodied turtle opened his mouth to swallow me whole.

I couldn't do anything sadly, and the giant turtle below me would definitely be the last of me, except I got extremely lucky. I was still swallowed by the turtle, but amazingly I slid down his throat without being crushed and sort of landed on a pile of undigested corpses. I immediately felt queasy from the stench and the thought of standing on dead people, but that subsided when I remembered I was alive and I needed to get out.

"Ok big fella, time to find out if you're a monster," I said to myself. Scattered around the pit of stomach acid faintly lit by my sword were other piles of deceased people. I very carefully jumped from one pile to the next without placing a foot in the acid.

Finally I reached the side of the stomach and raised Sophia high over my head. I brought it down and made a huge slit going down the turtle's stomach. I cut right through to the outside and I could see the pool. Then the turtle got up and started to move towards the pool. _Oh you son-of-a-titan,_ I thought when I realized that it planned on drowning me.

That plus my panic PLUS the acids in the stomach going crazy I thought there was a slim hope of surviving. As I was about to sit down and give up I had a flashback to a couple of minutes before, to the time when Lyra kissed me.

_Why did she do that? Was it a good luck kiss or does she actually like me?_ I asked myself. That enough gave me the strength to do what I did next.

Instead of trying to slip out I jumped from each precariously unstable pile of bodies around the rim of the stomach, driving my sword through its side every chance I got.

I heard one last grunt from the turtle and then it collapsed on its stomach. I was starting to cheer and head towards the widest opening, but then the turtle started shaking violently.

I remembered one of the first things I was told when I knew I was a demigod: monsters turn to dust when you kill them. In other words, _Oh Styx!_ I made a mad dash to the opening, but in the next second I was sprawled on my back with a mouthful of sand, and covered in at least a good ten feet of it. My last thought before choking to the point of blacking out was a pair of bright, sea green eyes that I recognized. I saw these eyes and closed my eyes before being engulfed in a light.

The next thing I knew, I had a familiar feeling of being ripped from my own body. I was about to have another one of my "experiences." I remember opening my eyes and getting up. I walked a bit through the sand and came out just a step away from taking an unintended dip in the pool. I stopped myself and walked around the other side of the mound of sand to see just what I had done.

I saw a smaller yet much wider pile of sand a couple feet away from the late turtle. That was what I presumed was the mound for Sciron. I tried kicking it, but my foot just passed through it.

That was the only part that killed me the most about this "state". I could hear and see everything, yet I couldn't feel or touch anything. It pained me even more when I saw Percy and Annabeth being led around the corner by a watery eyed Lyra. As soon as she turned the corner and took a quick glimpse of everything she sprinted to the huge pile of sand that I was under and started frantically digging. She called for the others to help, who were previously staring in shock at the scene, and they came as well. They were digging for a good two minutes before my shoe became visible.

Lyra had dug it out and then called the others to dig with her in that area. Soon my other shoe was found, then my legs. Lyra ran around the other side and started digging where my head was. She found it as Percy and Annabeth dug out my arms and torso. Lyra pulled me up and flipped me over, more sand pouring out from my mouth.

"We need to call an ambulance," Lyra said as she dragged me out to the edge of the pool. Percy and Annabeth had been silent the whole time, but Annabeth didn't waste any time pulling out her cell phone. She hesitated though, probably to see if I was ok.

"Lyra, see if you can do mouth to mouth before we call," Percy said. Lyra was about to shake her head, but then laid me on my back. She kneeled next to my head and tilted it backwards and opened my mouth. Then she placed her mouth to mine and puffed air into my chest. I saw my chest rise, but as it happened, the world around me seemed to get brighter then it darkened. I turned around to see a two-faced man in a blue suit standing before me, with a small box in each hand.

His faces were where his ears should be, and his ears were where his face and back of his head should be. I found it impossible to focus on one side without quickly glancing back towards the other. I could see the corners of one eye on each side if I looked at his ear and the two sides seemed to have different personalities.

"Well young demigod? It is your choice. Pick me, I guarantee a short, safe life," said the face on the left.

"Oh, no, don't pick that grouch. Pick me and you'll live a long, very difficult life," said the face on the right.

I was confused until I got a closer look at the boxes. One was pale white and had a picture of my friend and son of Hades, Nico. That was held by the left side. The other had a pair of bright, sea green eyes hovering above a black dirt road leading into a forest, which was held by the right side.

"That's life and death isn't it? And you're Janus?" I asked, although I already knew it was Janus, the god of beginnings, ends, and choices.

Grumpy, or the left face, said, "Well duh! Now hurry up and pick before we pick for you."

"Oh no, let him wait. That way he can lose all brain function then he can choose more easily," said Happy, or the right face. I paled at the end of his statement. Then I got an idea.

"Do you swear on the river Styx that these boxes show exactly what they depict?" I asked.

"Of course they do you dimwit!" said the left side.

"Why yes dearie," said the right side.

Then, as if rehearsed, they both said at the same time, "We swear upon the river Styx that these boxes show their exact outcomes." Thunder boomed in the distance.

I was pleased with that because gods were known to be tricky and untruthful, but then I felt light-headed and I stumbled backwards. I had a feeling that I was dying. The world around me started to get brighter again, but this brightness was almost harsh.

I turned back to the right side and said, "I pick you, the one with the forest."

"Ah, good choice master. Here is the key and please do open the box," said the right side with a smile. He handed me a key and I clumsily walked towards it, tripping several times, but not falling. I took the key and the box and, with much difficulty, managed to get the key in the hole.

I turned the key and the box sprung open, sending a wave of blackness out. I heard Janus laugh and then everything was quiet. I felt a sucking sensation and made no attempt to stop it. My last thought was, _I swear to the gods, if he pulled a trick I'm gonna give him Hades in the Underworld._

I remember coughing and sputtering and spitting out a bunch of sand before I opened my eyes. I was lying on my stomach at the edge of the pool and I was gasping for breath. I was coughing for a couple of minutes afterwards while all was silent around me, not even the pool seemed to be making any noise. Then I glanced at it and saw that it had frozen over. I was back to breathing regularly, but I was still coughing. I was remembering who I was, what had caused this, my past and the present.

Then I remembered the box that I had chosen. I whispered, "Bright Eyes." I smiled at my choice because I knew it was the right one. I rolled back over onto my back and stared up at the sky. I silently thanked Athena and focused on a pair of bright, sea green eyes that appeared above me. I was still smiling at that point.

"Bright Eyes, thank you," I told her, wiping away one of her tears and tucking some hair behind her ear. I managed to sit up against a diving board. Percy and Annabeth walked over to me looking relieved and shaken at the same time. Lyra looked like a bunch of emotions decided to take a trip into the blender and then one turned it on.

She said, "You Bonehead. Why do heroes always jump?"

I laughed and coughed a bit more which earned me concerned looks, but I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't worry guys. I'm fine. Help me up and let's head to our room. I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted."

Percy laughed while Annabeth smiled. Lyra smiled but was still crying a bit. She said, "I'll help you. Do you trust me enough?"

I smiled and said, "Of course. Now let's go, I'm hungry!"

Percy and Annabeth decided to walk behind us to watch out for any more monsters and I leaned on Lyra for support until I could walk upright.

When we arrived on our floor, again, the fence was gone and there was no platform outside the window. I smiled at that and Percy opened the door to our room. He held it while the rest of us walked through, then shut it and went to one of the bedrooms and collapsed on a bed. I could have sworn I heard snoring, and then Annabeth rolled her eyes and said she'd stay with Percy and watch some TV.

I managed to walk over to the kitchen unattended while Lyra plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. I pulled out a TV dinner and put it in the microwave. I brought it into the other bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed while turning the TV on to watch something on the History channel.

By the time I finished my "dinner", the show had ended and the sun was going down in the distance. I yawned but shook it off and turned my attention to a commercial about pet dander.

As I placed my food down on the night table I heard the door to the bedroom close. I whipped my head around to see if it was a monster and sighed in relief when it was only Lyra. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, which was unusual for her, but then I realized how good she looked. It had to have been the first time because I was spellbound.

"What?" she said walking over to me and sat down.

I shook my head and blushed, "Nothing. I was just surprised to see your hair in a ponytail." She smiled and I looked back to the TV.

"So Lyra, what's your last name?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know. I can't remember what my life was like before I washed up on the shore," she responded.

"Do you think you'd know if I shouted off a bunch of random names?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know. Why don't you find out?"

I turned to her and started spouting a bunch of names. She just stared at me with her bright green eyes.

"… Bright Eyes – " and then I stopped abruptly. I hadn't meant to say that but now that I had I looked at Lyra and wondered what her reaction would be.

"Bright Eyes… I don't think it's my last name, but it definitely would be a nice nickname, dontcha think?" she asked amused.

I blushed and said, "Well Bright Eyes, what do you think?"

She giggled and said, "I think it sounds perfect." Lyra scooted a bit closer to me so that her hand overlapped mine. I looked down at our hands then back up at her. We stared at each other, unaware of the extra presences in the room. I don't know when it happened, but the next think I knew we were an inch away from each other. I could feel her warm breath on my lips.

My heart was banging like a madman and I was still looking at Lyra. I moistened my lips and we leaned in closer. We were a sheet of paper's width away when we closed our eyes. I closed the gap and placed my lips on hers.

It was a light kiss, but it lasted for what seemed like a long time. I felt like my brain packed up and left my skull. I pulled away reluctantly and opened my eyes to see that pair of bright, sea green eyes. We smiled and kissed again. This time Lyra pulled away and rested her head on my shoulder. I placed my head on hers and whispered, "Lyra. I think I like you."

She looked up at me and said, "I like you too, Aran."

I wouldn't know how to explain it properly, but being with Lyra just felt right. It's like looking for a bed. You look and look, but then you spot that special one and you think _that's the one I want._ Lyra placed her head back on my shoulder and we watched the next show, about the HMS Victory, together.

We stayed that way until we heard the door close to our left. We both glanced over at the doorway but saw nothing. I looked back at Lyra and she yawned, and then blushed. I chuckled quietly at how cute I thought she looked. I said quietly, "Do you think we should tell them? About us I mean?"

She nodded sleepily then yawned again. I smiled and got up holding her hand. She followed and I walked around to the side of the bed. "C'mon, it's getting late. You should go to bed," I told her.

She nodded and got under the covers, letting go of my hand. I leant over the side and kissed her forehead, "Goodnight Bright Eyes."

"Night Bonehead," she said quietly before yawning again and closing her eyes. I silently left the room and closed the door.

I turned around to find a Percy and an Annabeth staring at me. I jumped in surprise then said, "Oh, it's only you guys." They said nothing. "Well, I'm going to go to bed on that there couch. If you'd please, vacate the premises before I call the SWAT team," I said with a joking smile. I yawned and they still stood there. Eventually, Percy said, "You need to come with us."

I nodded warily and followed them into their room. Here they had a chair set up under a lamp. I laughed at the interrogation room. "Ok, I get it. I'll sit down." I sat and they stood in the shadows.

Then Percy closed the door and Annabeth spoke, "Aran, tell me what you did today."

I was caught off guard because she had been there the whole day, "Well, I was driven here by Percy, I was attacked on the platform by Sciron and I was eaten by a huge turtle. Then I was buried alive in monster dust and Janus offered me death or my life. I chose my life, and here I am." I ended with a smile.

Annabeth nodded and stepped back while Percy stepped in, "And what caused you to come back to life?"

I was a bit puzzled by this. "Well, I still had a quest to finish and I had to make sure my friends made it back safe…" I said. Then Percy stepped into the light and I looked at his eyes, which was a mistake, because I subconsciously said, "… and because of Lyra."

My eyes widened as Percy grinned and turned off the lamp while Annabeth turned the lights on, also smiling.

They started laughing and I sat there bewildered. "Oh, we had a hunch that was it." Annabeth said. "I went back to see what was taking you guys so long and I just saw Lyra kiss you before you fell off with Sciron. Then, just before, we saw you guys kissing."

I blushed wildly, "You saw that?" I asked.

Percy nodded with a grin. "I do want to know one thing though." He said, all traces of joking disappearing, "How well do you know her?"

I hesitated before answering, "Um, well I know the reason she came here, sort of. I know she's deathly scared of heights. And, um… that's it, but I plan on talking with her more tomorrow." I added quickly.

Percy nodded and then turned to Annabeth, "I don't know. If they get too close, then we may have trouble."

Annabeth nodded and I asked, "Wait, what? What would be more trouble?"

Annabeth sighed and walked over to me, "Aran, we need to tell you something." She was starting to tear a bit. "Percy had a couple dreams about you. You are the one in the prophecy that will be forgotten and go missing." My heart stopped for a second.

"But, I've had dreams too, and I thought they were about Percy," I told them before explaining all of my dreams as well as Lyra's.

Annabeth and Percy both shook their heads. "No, when I was fighting you back at camp," Percy said, "your blessing activated and you started to glow a faint gray. Annabeth says that when you were with Sinis, you glowed a stronger gray. That has to be you." I got up and walked over to a window and stared out it, thinking about what had just been said to me. I was the hero to go missing.

"This means that I could potentially be gone for a lifetime," I said still facing the window. "You guys need to make it a priority to make her forget me. The sooner the better." Tears were starting to form, but I held them back. This was the first girl I liked, and I liked her a lot, and I really didn't want this to happen. But the Fates say this will happen. I saw them nod in the window and gave a small smile.

Annabeth and Percy came over and gave me a hug. "Thanks, guys. For being supportive and, you know." They both nodded and then let go. I smiled at them on my way out and lay down on the couch, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up, somehow, on my own. The room was dimly lit by the early morning light.

My brain was still slow, though, so I ended up rolling off the couch and landing with a _THUD!_ followed by a groan. I looked up in time to see Percy spring through his door half awake with Riptide in his hands with Annabeth behind him yawning and holding her dagger.

"Really Aran? We were trying to sleep here, but someone had to fall off their," Annabeth managed to say before she yawned, "… couch." Percy relaxed and capped his sword and made a failed attempt to put it in his pocket.

I noticed this and decided to be nice for once, "How about you guys go get ready and I'll make us some breakfast." They stared in shock at me.

"But Aran, you don't know how to –" but he was cut off by another voice.

"Oh yes he does, right Bonehead?" Lyra said as she stepped through her doorway. She looked half asleep, but she was awake enough to remember that conversation I had with her a couple of nights ago in one of the hotels:

"_Aran, what really happened to you when you were little?" Lyra asked as she sat on his bed._

_I hesitated a bit before telling her what really happened, "Well, my dad was a terrible person, as you know, but sometimes he acted like he hated me. Sometimes he would take his anger out on me and other times he said he would be 'saving money for college' by not feeding me," I said."When he would go to bed I would cook something I'd seen on TV: lasagna, meatloaf, ravioli, chicken parmesan, grilled cheese, you know things like that. I never burned anything and I always cleaned up afterwards to make sure he wouldn't know. He was too stupid to see his food supply dwindling, though, so I did get a bit lucky."_

"_Oh my gods, that's really terrible and amazing at the same time. Can you really cook?" she asked._

"_Yeah. Sometimes I helped out in the kitchen at camp making the dinner. The recipe for the pizza came from me." I told her. Her eyes sparkled._

"_You made that? That pizza is the best I've ever tasted!" she exclaimed. _

_I chuckled and said, "Yup, that came from me. It was one of the first things I made when my dad didn't make me dinner. I'm the only one who knows it too." I said adding a smile. _

I made a delayed smile and said, "Yeah, I really can. If there are ingredients I could make pizza or maybe even some grilled cheese and meatloaf." Percy's eyes shined and Annabeth rolled her eyes. Lyra stared at me, leaning against the door frame. "Now, I will need Lyra's help. I want this to be a surprise for our older siblings."

Annabeth nodded and Percy still stood there, mesmerized by his own daydream about food. Lyra rolled her eyes and went to get changed. I stayed in my dust covered clothes and planned on cleaning up after breakfast was made.

I was sure to make this the best breakfast ever, for my friends and for me. One of our last breakfasts together before the prophecy destroys it.

**Aww, how depressing. It only gets worse from here :P**

**Anyway, I think the people who have read the Percy Jackson series many, MANY times over will like what happens next... or not. but whatever.**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! DO IT FOR ARAN AND LYRA! DO IT FOR THE GOOD OF THE 2ND BEST COUPLE OF THE MILENNIUM (aside from Percy & Annabeth, of course)!**

**Remember, December 25th is the deadline. Review by then if you want the story to continue!**


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